(Best E Casino) - History dictated that the New York Giants might have some trouble coming back from their week off when they took the field for Sunday's clash with the Seattle Seahawks. The absence of game-changing wide receiver Plaxico Burress, the team's best offensive weapon, figured to provide another tough challenge for the defending world champions to overcome.

As it turned out, those two potential obstacles weren't even speed bumps for the Giants, who recorded their most lopsided victory in nearly 36 years with a 44-6 obliteration of the shell-shocked Seahawks that was every bit as dominating as the score indicated.

New York entered its Week 5 tilt against the Seahawks with a horrid 4-15 record following its bye week, which was tied for the worst mark among NFL teams in such situations. Big Blue quickly put to rest any thoughts of a repeat performance, however, as the Giants' offense scored on each of its first six possessions en route to a staggering 523-yard output.

"That was good to come out fast and get a good start coming off the bye week," said quarterback Eli Manning, who threw for 267 yards and two scores before giving way to backup David Carr in the fourth quarter. "We had a lot of conversations about not playing well after a bye week."

The Giants piled up 254 yards on the ground on Sunday, with top running back Brandon Jacobs overpowering his way to 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 15 carries. It was the second-highest total of the bruising fourth-year pro's career.

New York's passing game also didn't miss a beat despite not having Burress, who was serving a team-imposed one-game suspension for repeated violations of organizational rules, in uniform. His replacement, Domenik Hixon, hauled in four Manning throws for a career-best 102 yards and a touchdown before being forced to the sidelines with a concussion late in the first half.

Sinorice Moss then filled in for Hixon and scored the Giants' final two touchdowns while compiling 45 yards on four grabs.

The Giants are now 4-0 to start a season for the first time since 1990, a year in which the team won its first 10 games en route to a Super Bowl title. Sunday's 38-point margin of victory was the club's largest in a regular-season contest since a 62-10 rout over Philadelphia on November 26, 1972.

In addition to Hixon, New York had starting right tackle Kareem McKenzie sit out the second half with a concussion. Kicker Lawrence Tynes was held out for a fourth straight game as he continues to recover from a preseason procedure on his knee.

Tynes' replacement, 44-year-old John Carney, made good on all three of his field goal tries against the Seahawks and is a perfect 12-for-12 on three- point attempts this season.

NEXT UP: The Giants will hit the road for a Monday night showdown with the struggling Cleveland Browns, coached by one-time Giants assistant Romeo Crennel. New York will be putting an 11-game winning streak in away games on the line against a 1-3 Cleveland squad that is coming off its bye week. The G- Men haven't lost on the road since a 45-35 setback at rival Dallas in the 2007 season opener.

DALLAS: The Cowboys rebounded from last week's painful two-point home loss to fellow NFC East member Washington with Sunday's 31-22 triumph over the winless Cincinnati Bengals, although the win turned out to be a bit tougher than expected.

Dallas roared out to a quick 17-0 lead but allowed the Bengals to claw their way back it, with Cincinnati eventually pulling within 24-22 on a Carson Palmer-to-T.J. Houshmandzadeh connection midway through the fourth quarter. However, a potential game-tying two-point try was denied when Cowboys' reserve safety Keith Davis knocked away Palmer's fade pass to tight end Ben Utecht.

While Dallas may not have been completely focused throughout the game, the team did show noticeable resiliency when it had to.

The Cowboys counter Cincinnati's late score with a key 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that culminated with quarterback Tony Romo's third touchdown pass of the day, a 15-yard strike to wide receiver Patrick Crayton with under two minutes left.

Dallas also came up with a needed answer during the third quarter, when the Bengals trimmed their deficit to 17-16 and had the ball near midfield after successfully recovering an onside kick. However, nose tackle Tank Johnson came through with a momentum-changing strip of Cincy's Chris Perry, with linebacker Anthony Spencer pouncing on the loose ball to end the potential scoring threat.

Two plays later, Romo hooked up with disgruntled wide receiver Terrell Owens for a 57-yard touchdown which extended the lead to eight points.

Owens, who spouted off to all who would listen following the Washington loss about a perceived lack of involvement in the offense, had just two catches for 67 yards in the win, although there weren't any postgame gripes coming from the mercurial veteran afterward.

The 13th-year veteran's other catch of the afternoon, a 10-yard gain in the first quarter, was the 900th of his career. Owens became the eighth player in NFL history to reach the milestone and the third-fastest to get there. He reached the mark in his 178th game.

NEXT UP: The 4-1 Cowboys play the first of back-to-back road tests against NFC West foes with this Sunday's encounter with the high-powered Arizona Cardinals. Arizona snapped a two-game slide with Sunday's 41-17 rout of previously-unbeaten Buffalo at University of Phoenix Stadium, the team's fifth straight win at home. Dallas will also face the lowly St. Louis Rams during its away stretch.

PHILADELPHIA: Blowing an early 14-point lead at home in Sunday's 23-17 loss to the red-hot Washington Redskins was shocking enough for the Eagles, but that still wasn't nearly as startling as the way the team went down to its second straight frustrating defeat.

The Eagles, who entered the matchup ranked first in the NFL in rushing defense, yielded an unforeseen 203 rushing yards to the resurgent Redskins in Sunday's loss. Philadelphia had allowed a total of 215 yards on the ground over the course of its first four games.

Washington's ability to control the clock -- the Redskins held the football for nearly 35 minutes during the game -- also prevented the Eagles from establishing any rhythm on offense after a 12-play, 80-yard opening drive capped by a nine-yard touchdown burst from running back Brian Westbrook.

Philadelphia managed a total of just four first downs on its following six possessions, with the team's only other touchdown of the day coming via a 68- yard punt return from electrifying rookie DeSean Jackson. The flashy young wideout didn't have the same impact as a receiver, however. Jackson, who entered the game with team-bests of 22 receptions and 327 receiving yards, was held to just one eight-yard catch on the afternoon.

Fellow wide receiver Reggie Brown did come through with his best production of the season on Sunday. The fourth-year pro, still battling his way back from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the season's first two weeks, caught seven passes for 84 yards.

Westbrook returned to action after sitting out Philadelphia's Week 4 loss at Chicago and added 51 yards on six catches. The dangerous back managed just 33 rushing yards on 12 carries, however, and played most of the contest with two fractured ribs as the result of a first-quarter hit. The injury will likely keep Westbrook out of practice sessions this week and render him a game-time decision for this Sunday's tilt at San Francisco.

The Eagles' sputtering offense was also without right guard Shawn Andrews for a third straight week due to back spasms, and the two-time Pro Bowl honoree isn't expected back until after the team's Week 7 bye.

NEXT UP: Philadelphia will try to enter its bye off a much-needed victory over the 49ers, who fell to 2-3 after a 30-21 home loss to perennial power New England last Sunday. The Eagles also own a 2-3 mark after five weeks and are already two games behind both Dallas and Washington for second place in the mighty NFC East.

WASHINGTON: Santana Moss had been an integral part of the Redskins' three-game winning streak the team brought into Sunday's showdown in Philadelphia. The shifty wide receiver wound up being nothing more than a decoy in Washington's latest victory, but that still didn't slow down an offense that's been more efficient and confident with each passing week.

The Eagles succeeded in minimizing the impact from Moss, who had at least seven catches during the Redskins' three straight wins and burned the rival Cowboys for 145 yards in last week's 26-24 decision at Texas Stadium. Washington managed to improvise by throwing a heavy dose of running back Clinton Portis at the Philadelphia defense and by making tight end Chris Cooley a bigger part of the game plan.

A determined Portis racked up a season-best 145 yards on 29 carries and scored a key fourth-quarter touchdown that capped a run of 23 unanswered Washington points. Cooley deftly found holes in the Eagles secondary en route to an eight-catch, 109-yard effort, and scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 18-yard option pass from wideout Antwaan Randle El midway through the third quarter.

Moss, double-covered for a good portion of the game, did not record a catch.

"It's one of those deals where it's not that we sacrificed him, because we tried to get him the ball, but he drew attention," said Redskins head coach Jim Zorn. He concentrated the whole game as well. He was into it the whole day, he never complained one time on the sideline that, 'Hey, you're not getting me the ball.' I've seen that before on certain teams, and he did not do that. He's a real pro, and at some point down the road I bet he catches another pass."

The Redskins also prevailed on the strength of a stout effort from a defense that was without star defensive end Jason Taylor and top cornerback Shawn Springs, both of whom were out with calf injuries, as well as strongside linebacker Marcus Washington (hamstring). Even with those significant losses, the unit held the Eagles to just 254 total yards and a mere 58 on the ground.

NEXT UP: The Redskins seemingly have a good chance for a fifth straight win, with a home date with 0-4 St. Louis next on the docket. The Rams have been outscored by an average of 25 points so far on the season and will be breaking in a new head coach this Sunday, with the club having fired Scott Linehan during its bye week and replacing him with one-time New Orleans head man Jim Haslett. The Redskins have not started out 5-1 since 1996.