Giants 'D' may be peaking for playoffs

This might sound preposterous, given how poorly the Giants' defense has performed through the better part of the season. But after putting together what may have been their best two games to get themselves into the playoffs on the final night, the Giants now think they have the makings of the best defense of all.

"We can be the best defense in the league," second-year defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said yesterday. "We've had nicks and bruises, but we're getting better."

Best defense in the league? This from a prominent player on a unit that gave up 400 points, eighth highest in the NFL?

Yep. And Pierre-Paul isn't alone. With the Giants coming off a 31-14 win over the Cowboys that clinched the NFC East -- a game that followed a 29-14 win over the Jets -- they're thinking big and talking big going into Sunday's wild-card game against the Falcons at MetLife Stadium.

The 14 points they allowed in each of the last two games were about half of what the Giants gave up in their previous 14 (27.4 points per game). And with a defensive line that has re-emerged in a big way, helping the Giants total 11 sacks against the Jets and Cowboys, this defense is starting to have the look and feel of other prominent Giants defenses.

We're not ready to anoint them as good as their 2007 Super Bowl championship defense or the 1986 and '90 title teams. But if they keep up their level of play in the postseason, there is no reason to automatically discount them from contention for another Super Bowl run.

The road ahead is treacherous, however, if they get past Atlanta. If the Saints beat Detroit on Saturday as expected, the remaining three teams left in the NFC playoffs -- the Saints, Packers and 49ers -- all have beaten the Giants.

Those three teams outscored them by a combined 114-79 during a difficult stretch in November and early December. But the Giants' defense wasn't playing at nearly as high a level then as it is now. So any rematches might have a different feel.

"I think we can be the best defense in the playoffs," safety Deon Grant said.

They're not there just yet, Grant said, but they're a lot closer than they've been all season.

"Even though we've been in playoff-type situations the last two games, we still haven't put together a complete game yet . . . We know exactly what it is, so it's just us coming together and being on the same page."

This is the way it's supposed to be on the Giants, with the defense carrying the day and helping the offense by setting up good field position. But for most of the season, it has been the exact opposite. It has been Eli Manning carrying the offense via the passing game and the defense stumbling along.

But with the defense seemingly out of its funk, this is now much closer to being the kind of complete team the Giants will need to make a serious playoff run.

Especially if they meet up with the big boys of the NFC should they get past a Falcons team against which they may not match up so well Sunday. The Giants will have to shore up the run defense against bruising tailback Michael Turner and be prepared for a gritty performance from quarterback Matt Ryan.

"We've always known we're a talented group, a fast group, but we weren't intact the way we needed to be," said safety Antrel Rolle, whose play improved dramatically the last two games. "It was an easy fix as far as the coaches and players being on the same page. It was a matter of going out and fixing it, getting better communication, doing what's called and letting the coach be confident in our play. I think we've done that."

They have indeed. And if they can stay on the roll they've been on the last two weeks, there's every reason to think they can handle Atlanta in the first round. After that, things would get exponentially harder in a likely visit to the defending Super Bowl champion Packers.

Then again, they lost by only three points, 38-35, the last time they faced Green Bay. And that was when the Giants' defense was at its worst. The second time around might be a different story.