The New York Giants think they need to run the table in their final four regular-season games to win the NFC East.

The New Orleans Saints feel the same way about reaching the playoffs, and are drawing inspiration from the reigning Super Bowl champions.

The Giants could find their division lead completely gone with a loss Sunday at MetLife Stadium, while another defeat for the Saints will essentially end their fading postseason hopes.

New York (7-5) has dropped three of four, and has seen its 2 1/2 game lead in the East reduced to one ahead of Washington and Dallas.

Following Monday's 17-16 loss to the Redskins, another defeat would further complicate the race for the Giants, and their upcoming schedule isn't very friendly. After hosting the Saints (5-7), they visit Atlanta and Baltimore before welcoming Philadelphia in Week 17.

"I am looking at it one game at a time, knowing full well it's a four-game season and we have to win really every one of our games," coach Tom Coughlin said. "That's how I look at it. It's going to be win the games that are presented, the one that is right in front of you."

New York proved it could do that last year, winning three of its final four contests to finish 9-7, squeezing into the playoffs and going on to lift a fourth Lombardi Trophy.

That's not lost on the Saints, who likely need to sweep their final four games against New York, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Carolina to have a chance at a team-record fourth straight playoff berth.

"We saw what they did last year," cornerback Jabari Greer said. "We know that it's possible."

Not with the way New Orleans is playing lately.

The Saints followed a 31-21 loss to San Francisco on Nov. 25 with a 23-13 defeat at Atlanta four days later, and Drew Brees was the primary culprit in each defeat.

Brees had two interceptions returned for touchdowns against the 49ers, then set a career high with five picks against the Falcons while also mismanaging the clock at the end of the first half to cost New Orleans at least three points.

He had thrown 24 touchdowns with five interceptions over his eight games prior to the San Francisco loss.

"I understand the importance of taking care of the football," Brees said. "Certainly the last two weeks there have been an inordinate amount of turnovers. That's something that can't happen and something I have to fix.

"We're playing the defending world champs in their house, and the last three don't mean anything unless we win this one. The Giants have played in these types of games - playoff games before the playoffs. That's kind of the situation we're in."

Brees has been superb against the Giants, completing 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,055 yards with 11 touchdowns and no picks while being sacked once in four games - all wins. He tossed four scoring passes and racked up 363 yards while connecting on 24 of 38 passes in a 49-24 victory Nov. 28, 2011.

The Giants have failed to record a sack in two of their last three games, allowing opposing QBs to post a 106.4 rating with six touchdowns and one interception.

New York has also struggled to get off the field lately, allowing its past four opponents to convert 45.7 percent of their third downs after limiting their first eight opponents to 36.2 percent.

"They are a group that you absolutely want to be able to control the tempo of a game against and try to stay in the most favorable positions as possible as an offense," Brees said. "You get into a bunch of pass-only downs, third-and-long situations, that plays right into their hands and strengths."

New Orleans has rectified a running game that was averaging a league-worst 72.6 yards through October by picking up 119.8 yards per game on the ground over the past five contests. That success may continue since New York is surrendering 139.3 in its last four games - including 207 to Robert Griffin III and the Redskins on Monday.

"I don't think we have played dominant on a consistent basis," safety Antrel Rolle said. "I think we can definitely go out there and have a little more dog in our system. Attack a lot more, be more physical at the point of attack and make plays when the opportunity presents itself.

"We just need to go out there and have that same confidence in ourselves when we take the field, which we do. But we need to go out there and prove it. Talk is cheap."

Eli Manning is seeking consistency as three of his six touchdown passes over the past seven games came in a 38-10 home win over Green Bay in Week 12. He followed that up with a 4-yard TD toss to Martellus Bennett against the Redskins.

Manning put up 406 yards with two TDs and one INT while completing 33 of 47 passes in last year's meeting with the Saints.

Wilson has 3 TDs in Giants 52-27 win over Saints

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Rookie David Wilson was given a simple piece of advice by special teams coach Tom Quinn before the New York Giants ' game against the New Orleans Saints : `'Run fast."

The first-round draft pick did more than that. He might have provided the spark that gets the defending Super Bowl champions back to the playoffs with several electrifying kickoff returns and big-gainers on handoffs from Eli Manning .

Wilson sprinted 97 yards on a kickoff return for one touchdown, ran for 100 yards and two more scores and piled up a team-record 327 all-purpose yards in a 52-27 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Manning, meanwhile, chipped in with four touchdown passes.

"To come up and have a breakout game like this is an excellent feeling," said Wilson, who became the first NFL player to have 200 yards in kickoff returns and 100 yards rushing in a game. "You want to have a good game every game. I went out there and my teammates went out there and we played great and put up 50 points."

The performance could not have come in a bigger game. It allowed the Giants (8-5) to maintain their one-game lead in the NFC East over Washington and Dallas, and it finally showed the league the talent that teammates have seen almost every day in practice.

Wilson's NFL career did not start well. He was benched after fumbling in the season opener against Dallas and it's taken until recently for him to work his way back into coach Tom Coughlin's good graces.

"He made some huge plays today, when we needed it the most," said receiver Victor Cruz , who had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. "Some were unexpected. We've watched him in practice just do amazing things, be it breaking plays or making cuts that you only see guys who are Hall of Famers make. So he definitely is the most athletic on the team and showed it today."

In all but ending the playoff hopes of Drew Brees and the Saints (5-8), the Giants showed they again can be a force in the postseason if they can get there.

New York snapped a three-game losing streak against the Saints, who turned over the ball four times in losing their third straight.

"Honestly, this is our playoffs," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "These are playoff type games. The teams we're going to play, the atmosphere we're going to play in, this is what it is about. This is the type of football that leads into the playoffs and this is what we need."

Manning had TD passes of 6 yards to Martellus Bennett , 5 yards to Hixon, 25 yards to Hakeem Nicks and 10 yards to Cruz. Wilson scored on runs of 6 and 52 yards and hit 100 yards on only 13 carries for the biggest day of his short career.

The 52 points are the most for the Giants since scoring 55 against Green Bay in 1986. It also was the most given up by New Orleans, whose defense is run by former New York coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

"I wouldn't say we're fragile," said linebacker Jonathan Vilma , whose fate for the balance of the season might be decided Tuesday when former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue hands down a decision on his Bountygate suspension appeal. "I wouldn't know what to call it. We're accustomed to finding ways to win. This year, we're just not good enough to overcome a lot of the mistakes. We have to be more conscious in games and more detail oriented in practice about how we handle our business on Sundays.

Darren Sproles scored on a 13-yard run and caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brees late in the third quarter, cutting the Giants lead to 35-27.

However, Jerrel Jernigan returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to set up Manning's touchdown pass to Cruz. New York iced the game when Stevie Brown returned one of his two interceptions of Brees to set up Lawrence Tynes ' 39-yard field goal.

The biggest play was Wilson's kickoff return, which came one play after Elbert Mack intercepted Manning in the left flat and returned it 73 yards to give the Saints a 7-0 lead.

The touchdown came minutes after Dallas rallied for a 20-19 win over Cincinnati and Washington beat Baltimore 31-28 in overtime despite losing Robert Griffin III to a knee injury.

Manning, Tuck and safety Antrel Rolle all said they knew the results of the other games by halftime, at least the Redskins' game.

"Our concern for the next three weeks is the New York Giants and that's all we can focus on," said Manning, who completed 22 of 35 for 259 yards.

The Giants could have folded against a team that had routed them the past two meetings. Instead, Wilson, who has been threatening all season to break a kickoff, fielded one at the 3, went up the middle and then veered toward the right corner of the end zone. He capped it with a somersault.

"That was huge," Rolle said. "That was huge. He has always been a fraction away from breaking it all year long and guys have been constantly pushing him to do it."

A fumble near midfield Jed Collins led to Manning's touchdown pass to Bennett and New York never trailed again.

Brees, who had never lost to the Giants and had eight TD passes and no interceptions in the last two games, finished 26 of 43 for 354 yards. New Orleans outgained New York 487-394, but mistakes were its undoing.

The Giants didn't cash in after Wilson's returns of 58 and 52 yards, but his 20-yarder late in the half after a short kickoff set up a 69-yard touchdown drive. Manning capped it with the fade route to Hixon.

Defensive tackle Linval Joseph returned Collins' miscue 16 yards to the Saints 35. A 16-yard pass to Hixon and a couple of penalties set up a 6-yard touchdown toss to Bennett for a 14-7 lead.

Brees took the Saints on drives of 81 and 67 yards in the second quarter, but each time the NFL's top red-zone offense settled for field goals of 32 and 25 yards by Garrett Hartley .

NOTES: Hixon had the old Giants single-season record for all-purposes yards at 303 in 2009. ...Wilson also set a single-season record for kickoff return yards with 1,301 yard....Brown has broken the Giants single-season record for interception return yards with 259 on seven interceptions. The old mark of 251 was set by Dick Lynch and Emlen Tunnell. ... Patrick Robinson had the Saints' other interception of Manning. Joseph Morgan has two catches for 106 yards for New Orleans.

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