OK, folks...forget the NFC East.

Because compared to the gauntlet thrown down for the New York Giants by the NFL this past Sunday night, neither the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys nor Philadelphia Eagles figure to provide any more than a speed bump's discomfort between here and Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.

In announcing that rapidly graying rock icon Bruce Springsteen will be taking center stage at halftime during the league's big show at Raymond James Stadium, the powers-that-be provided more hometown impetus for Big Blue to defend their title than the three out-of-state rivals could ever contest.

Talk about your, errr..."Thunder Road."

Already under a must-repeat mandate from the ferry-packed shores of Cape May to the blight-specked streets of Newark, the chance to make it a Garden State jamboree in the presence of "The Boss" has fans at every Turnpike exit positively silly with anticipation of more, ahem... "Glory Days."

Now if only someone can get the Jets on board, too.

Of course, that could be considered, uhhh..."Countin' on a Miracle."

At any rate, the Giants got their title encore started in headliner fashion through the season's initial three weeks, smothering the Redskins and hammering the Rams before escaping with an overtime win against Cincinnati en route to a one-week intermission.

They return Sunday at 1 p.m. against the visiting Seattle Seahawks - who split a pair of home games and took a 24-point drubbing on the road in stops 1, 2 and 3 of a 2008-09 tour that they too hope will end in a second Super Bowl appearance since Bruce reached AARP status.

"We've always kind of had that ability, had that about us. It's good we haven't lost yet," Giants quarterback Eli Manning said. "It's something you really can't coach, can't teach. For some reason, when it's clutch time and we need to make some plays, we tend to find a way to make plays."

New York leads the East thanks to mathematics, with its unbeaten slate through three games bettering the matching 3-1 marks of nearest pursuers Washington and Dallas. The Eagles bring up the rear at 2-2 after a loss in Chicago, conveniently on the night of the league's Springsteen disclosure.

The Giants face Cleveland, San Francisco and Pittsburgh to finish out October, then host the Cowboys on Nov. 2 before a primetime Sunday date at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field seven days later.

It'll be their first, wait for it..."Meeting Across the River"...since a key 16-13 win exactly 11 months earlier.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are 1-2 and a half-game behind dual NFC West pace- setters San Francisco and Arizona, both of whom are 2-2.

St. Louis, which lost to the Giants and Seattle by a combined 78-26 count in Weeks 2 and 3, is 0-4.

"I think we are starting to play better," said Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck. "And it looks like some of the injured players might begin to practice, so there (are) positives all around."

SERIES HISTORY

The Giants have a 7-5 edge in their all-time series with the Seahawks, but were losers when they visited Seattle in 2005 and 2006. The G-Men suffered a 42-30 loss in the latter meeting. The Hawks are 0-4 against the Giants at the Meadowlands since last defeating them there in 1983. New York was a 9-6 winner when the clubs last met there, in 2002.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is 1-5 against Seattle in his career, including 1-3 while at the helm of the Jaguars (1995-2002). The Seahawks' Mike Holmgren is 4-3 all-time against the Giants, including 2-3 while with the Packers (1992-98), and is 5-0 head-to-head against Coughlin in his career.

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