That's not going to be easy, particularly considering that three of their remaining four games are against division opponents, starting with the 11-1 New York Giants Sunday up in the Meadowlands.

"This is a must-win game for us," quarterback Donovan McNabb said. "In order for us to go forward, we have to win this game."

In order for the Eagles to beat the Giants, they're going to need a solid performance from McNabb, which is no sure thing. Before turning it around with an impressive performance in a 48-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Thanksgiving night, McNabb had been in a five-week funk that climaxed on Nov. 23 with his halftime benching in an ugly 36-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

McNabb completed 27 of 39 passes for 260 yards and four touchdown passes against a Cardinals defense that had given up a league-high 22 TD passes prior to the Eagles game.

The week before that, he was benched by coach Andy Reid after completing just 8 of 18 passes and turning the ball over three times in the first half against the Ravens. The week before that, he turned the ball over four times and completed just 48.3 percent of his passes in an ugly 13-13 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals.

In a 36-31 loss to the Giants the week before that, he completed just 17 of 37 passes and averaged just 5.2 yards per attempt, though he did throw three touchdown passes.

"Donovan has struggled a little bit," Reid said. 'But everybody has had a piece of (the responsibility) for the way our offense was playing, and that includes me. But he never lost confidence in himself. He worked through his problems and had a terrific game against the Cardinals."

McNabb enters the Giants game with an 84.8 passer rating, which, at the moment, is his lowest rating since 2003. After throwing just three interceptions in the first seven games, McNabb, who has the second lowest career interception percentage in NFL history, has thrown seven in the last five games.

"You look at the things that happened and it was kind of uncharacteristic of me, and I know that," said McNabb. "It's something you have to battle through. Not everyone goes through a perfect season. But I always believed I'd bounce back."

There has been speculation that this will be McNabb's last season with the Eagles. The team drafted Kevin Kolb with their top pick in the 2006 draft (36th overall selection). Kolb replaced McNabb in the second half of the Ravens game but threw two interceptions, including one that was returned 108 yards for a touchdown.

If he can somehow help the Eagles win out and make the playoffs, it likely would increase the chances of McNabb returning to Philadelphia next season. But if they lose Sunday to the Giants and fall to 6-6-1, it's entirely possible that McNabb will find himself on the bench again as the Eagles take a look at Kolb.

SERIES HISTORY: 148th regular-season meeting. Giants lead the series, 79-66-2. Eagles have lost the past three meetings, including a 36-31 defeat in Week 10 when a potential game-winning drive by the Eagles fizzled at midfield on a failed fourth-and-one run by Brian Westbrook.