FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- The New York Giants were so far behind even Drew Bledsoe might have had trouble bringing them back.

They trailed Washington by 36 points early in the fourth quarter last Sunday, the same day Bledsoe was rallying the New England Patriots from a 21-point halftime deficit against Indianapolis.

New York lost 50-21, New England won 31-28, but both teams hope their meeting Sunday night will be different.

"That's a shock to your pride," Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said. "We can't beat ourselves up over it because if we do that we're not going to be ready come Sunday."

Strahan totaled 29 sacks the past two seasons. That earned him consecutive Pro Bowl berths. He has no sacks this season and will be going against an offensive line that has allowed just three sacks against Bledsoe.

But Bledsoe, who threw three scoring passes in the second half against Indianapolis, knows the Patriots' offense must improve in all areas, especially after needing last-minute field goals to win their first two games.

"You just can't expect to come and score a bunch of unanswered points and win a game when you put yourself in a hole," he said. "We have to be sharper. We have to be more disciplined. We have to hold onto the football."

They also must understand that it's unlikely that a defense as good as New York's will have back-to-back disasters.

"I'm definitely going to write that off as a quirk," said Patriots running back Terry Allen, who played against the Giants twice a year when he was with the Redskins. "I know they're a much better defense than to give up 50 points."

"There's going be adversity," Giants coach Jim Fassel said. "How you deal with it and how you come back that kind of shows what kind of team you are."

The Giants pass defense, which allowed Washington's Brad Johnson to throw for 231 yards and three touchdowns, should be better with the expected return of cornerback Jason Sehorn.

He missed all last season with a knee injury and this entire exhibition season and the first two regular-season games with a hamstring injury.

"Don't look to me as a savior," Sehorn said. "Look to me as a piece in the wheel. Don't look to me as the person who is going to come in and all of a sudden turn this ship around."

He'll certainly help a team that gave up 50 points for the first time in 33 years.

"He's another one of the big-play guys who can turn the game around for them," New England coach Pete Carroll said.

The Giants (1-1) depend on their defense to carry them. In their season-opening 17-13 win at Tampa Bay, they managed just four first downs and 107 yards and scored touchdowns on a fumble return and interception return. They also held the Buccaneers to 15 first downs and 254 yards.

But on Sunday they'll face a quarterback who leads the NFL with 639 passing yards and is tied for the lead with five touchdowns. He also has directed the Patriots to 16 fourth-quarter comeback wins, the same number John Elway had at the same stage of his career.

"We always feel that we have a chance to come back and win a game if there's some time left," Bledsoe said.

That's what they did the last time the two teams met when the Giants took a 22-0 halftime lead in the 1996 season finale, the season the Patriots went to the Super Bowl.

With Bledsoe throwing for 237 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, New England won 23-22 on a scoring pass to Ben Coates with 1:23 left in the game.

And Bledsoe is better now.

"He's playing about as good as I've seen him play," Fassel said. "He's throwing the ball well. He's making good decisions."

He also has an unexpected running game.

The Patriots drafted running back Kevin Faulk after Robert Edwards' season, and possibly career, ended with a serious knee injury in February. But Allen, signed late in August after being cut by Washington in April, has two touchdowns and has led the Patriots in rushing in both games.

"You can't let him get off to a fast start because he'll never stop," Strahan said. "We can't miss the tackles that we missed last week and get away with it."

The Patriots, though, expect to see the Giants' defense that shut down Tampa Bay not the one that got stomped on by Washington.

"They're like a wounded animal in a corner just fighting to come out," Patriots strong safety Lawyer Milloy said. "It's a dangerous situation to be in. Our mentality is we haven't played our best football yet, so we're just as hungry."

NY GIANTS Season schedule and results

NEW ENGLAND Season schedule and results

September 12 @Tampa Bay W 17-13 September 19 Washington L 21-50 September 26 @New England 8:20pm ET October 3 Philadelphia 1:00pm ET October 10 @Arizona 4:05pm ET October 18 Dallas 9:00pm ET October 24 New Orleans 1:00pm ET October 31 @Philadelphia 1:00pm ET November 14 Indianapolis 1:00pm ET November 21 @Washington 4:15pm ET November 28 Arizona 1:00pm ET December 5 NY Jets 1:00pm ET December 12 @Buffalo 1:00pm ET December 19 @St. Louis 1:00pm ET December 26 Minnesota 1:00pm ET January 2 @Dallas 4:05pm ET

September 12 @NY Jets W 30-28 September 19 Indianapolis W 31-28 September 26 NY Giants 8:20pm ET October 3 @Cleveland 1:00pm ET October 10 @Kansas City 1:00pm ET October 17 Miami 1:00pm ET October 24 Denver 1:00pm ET October 31 @Arizona 4:05pm ET November 15 NY Jets 9:00pm ET November 21 @Miami 1:00pm ET November 28 @Buffalo 1:00pm ET December 5 Dallas 8:20pm ET December 12 @Indianapolis 1:00pm ET December 19 @Philadelphia 1:00pm ET December 26 Buffalo 1:00pm ET January 2 Baltimore 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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