EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is out indefinitely after an MRI exam on Friday surprisingly revealed a bulging disk in his neck. Pierce, 31, originally sustained a burner when the Giants played Arizona on Oct. 25. He had very little discomfort until practice this week, when the club’s medical staff scheduled the MRI exam.

PHILADELPHIA—Donovan McNabb threw three touchdown passes, and Sean Jackson had another big TD catch as the Philadelphia Eagles took a 40-17 win over a mistake-prone Eli Manning and the New York Giants yesterday. “When you play these NFC East teams, you prepare for a heavyweight fight,“ Eagles coach Andy Reid said. The Eagles (5-2) remained undefeated in the division and host Dallas next week. Philly continued its victorious run over NFC East teams a week after beating Washington.

PHILADELPHIA New York vs. Philly. Let’s play two! When the Giants and Eagles clash with the NFC East lead at stake, they’ll only be the opening act in a Broadway-Broad Street twin bill. Kickoff is set for about 7½ hours before the Phillies throw the first pitch against the Yankees in the World Series. The loaded lineup should only increase the tension between the tailgating die-hards from each city.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—The Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants turned back the clock to late 2009 in front of a national audience. The Cardinals (4-2) are starting a run similar to the one that carried them to the Super Bowl while the Giants (5-2) could be starting a swoon reminiscent of late last season. Kurt Warner threw a touchdown pass, Arizona forced four turnovers and the Cardinals scored 21 points off mistakes by the usually reliable Jeff Feagles and Eli Manning in a 24-17 victory Sunday night.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Arizona Cardinals are heading to another desert of sorts this weekend - the one 5 miles west of New York City. If anything has been a wasteland for the Cardinals since their move from St. Louis to Phoenix in 1988, it’s been Giants Stadium. The Cardinals have played in the 33-year-old structure that serves as home to the Giants and Jets 17 times since the move and won twice - both against the Giants. The last win came in 1999.

NEW ORLEANS - Drew Brees torched the Giants’ league-leading defense, swarming Saints defenders ruined Eli Manning’s homecoming and undefeated New Orleans matched its best start since 1993 with a 48-27 throttling of previously unbeaten New York yesterday. “We wanted to really dictate the tempo of the game the whole way through,“ Brees said. “Seven different guys scored touchdowns. That’s big. That’s the type of rhythm that, when you get in, you feel like you can call anything and it’s going to work.“

ASHBURN, Va.—So, Frank Gifford, are you bummed out that your 1954 New York Giants are about to lose a place in the proverbial record books to the 2009 Washington Redskins? “Not at all,“ the Hall of Fame running back said with a laugh. “Particularly when you didn’t know you had one.“ When Gifford remembers the ‘54 Giants, he thinks about a knee injury he had late in the season that contributed to the team’s struggles down the stretch. What never occurred to him—until a telephone interview with The Associated Press yesterday—was that New York opened that season with five consecutive games against winless opponents.

PHILADELPHIA—Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb returned to practice yesterday and is expected to start Sunday when the Eagles host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McNabb has been out since breaking his rib in the season opener. He missed two games before the Eagles had their bye this past weekend. McNabb was injured scoring a rushing touchdown Sept. 6 in a win over the Carolina Panthers.

The New York Giants didn’t find a replacement for Plaxico Burress in opening defense of their NFC East title. They added something just as valuable, a healthy Osi Umenyiora, and he’s as good as ever. Returning from a major knee injury that wiped out his 2008 season, Umenyiora scored on a 37-yard fumble return after knocking a ball loose on a sack in leading the Giants to a 23-17 win over the Washington Redskins yesterday.

Go-to guy Plaxico Burress is gone. All-time leading receiver Amani Toomer was let go. Defensive guru Steve Spagnuolo left to become the coach of the St. Louis Rams. There is a lot missing in the New York Giants’ locker room as they look forward to defending their NFC East title, beginning with the season opener today against the Washington Redskins.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The New York Giants were without all three of their big defensive free agent signees in Saturday’s 17-3 exhibition loss at Chicago. Tackles Chris Canty (slight hamstring tear) and Rocky Bernard (hamstring) and linebacker Michael Boley (hip surgery) still have not played. Canty, a former University of Virginia star, left the Dallas Cowboys to sign with the Giants. Bernard, who came from the Seattle Seahawks, just got off the non-football injury list. He is expected to play this weekend against the New York Jets.

NEW YORK—Facing the prospect of spending at least 3½ years behind bars, one-time Super Bowl star Plaxico Burress accepted a plea bargain with a two-year prison sentence for accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub. The former New York Giants wide receiver pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a lesser charge than he had faced. He will be sentenced Sept. 22, and lawyer Benjamin Brafman said he expects Burress to begin serving his sentence immediately after.

Eli Manning has agreed to a new six-year, $97 million contract extension with the New York Giants that will make him the highest paid player in the NFL with an average salary of roughly $15.3 million. A source close to the talks said Manning is guaranteed $35 million under the deal that will keep him with the Giants through the 2015 season.

Quarterback’s contract extension will make him the highest-paid player in the NFL with an average salary of roughly $15.3 million; deal will reportedly keep him with the Giants through 2015.

NEW YORK - Former New York Giants star Plaxico Burress was indicted by a grand jury on weapons charges for shooting himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub and faces a minimum prison sentence of 3½ years if convicted, prosecutors announced yesterday. The indictment charged Burress, a 31-year-old Norfolk native, with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.