One day after the Giants nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in their history, Tom Coughlin had no regrets about playing his starters for the entire game in the Giants' 38-35 loss to the undefeated New England Patriots Saturday night. Along the way, the Giants lost three starters who might not be available when the playoffs open Sunday at 1 P.M. at Tampa Bay. But even knowing the cost, Coughlin said he'd do it all again. "As far as whether we'd play it any differently?" Coughlin said yesterday. "No." His defiance was due to the momentum the Giants (10-6) gained with their incredible effort that saw them build a 12-point lead in the second half, a lead that was cut to five points entering the fourth quarter.

Three people remained hospitalized Sunday after being injured when an escalator malfunctioned Saturday night at Giants Stadium after the Patriots' 38-35 victory over the Giants gave New England a 16-0 regular season. The escalator at Gate A apparently failed at the bottom steps, state police Lt. Jim Crann said. The escalator runs from the stadium's upper tier to the ground level, and Crann said it appeared that some bottom steps became bent, causing some fans to sustain foot and leg injuries. Seven people were injured, according to James Minish, executive vice president of facilities for the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which operates the stadium. Two of the seven were treated at the stadium, he said. Five people were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center after the game, according to hospital spokeswoman Nancy Radwin.

Shaun O'Hara walked out of Giants Stadium without crutches or a brace on his sprained left knee and said he felt OK though he didn't know what shape he'd be in for next weekend's playoff game at Tampa Bay. It is believed that O'Hara suffered an injury to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. O'Hara told Newsday that he is scheduled for an MRI exam today after his left knee buckled in the second quarter when teammate David Diehl was driven into O'Hara by Patriots' linebacker Adalius Thomas. Grey Ruegamer replaced O'Hara at center. The Giants also lost linebacker Kawika Mitchell to a sprained knee in the first quarter and cornerback Sam Madison to an abdominal strain in the fourth quarter. Madison said after the game he was not seriously hurt. Tom Coughlin singled out Gerris Wilkinson for praise after Wilkinson replaced Mitchell.

With one mighty heave, Tom Brady and Randy Moss took care of the record books. Now it's down to business for the unbeaten New England Patriots: stamping themselves as the greatest team in NFL history. The Patriots completed a perfect if somewhat joyless journey through the regular season Saturday night, finishing with a remarkable 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants. New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a comeback from a 12-point deficit engineered by the brilliant Brady and smashed the Patriots' league mark for consecutive victories.

The NFL has officially deducted 2 yards from Brandon Jacobs' rushing total in the New York Giants' victory at Buffalo last Sunday. Jacobs goes from 145 yards rushing to 143, and the team total drops from 291 to 289 in the Giants' 38-21 win that clinched a playoff berth. The 2 yards initially had been credited as fumble yardage. Because of the change, the Giants' rushing total no longer is the most in the league since 1959.

There are no guarantees coming out of the front office yet, but at this point it would take a humiliating loss to the New England Patriots and an embarrassing blowout in the playoffs to cost Tom Coughlin his job. He's earned what likely will be a long-term contract extension after the season. And most of his players are glad he has done so. "How many times do coaches have their job on the line and go 10-5?" said linebacker Antonio Pierce. "How many coaches have been in the playoffs three straight years? Our guy did it. Three years in a row." That puts Coughlin in some pretty select company. The only other coaches to lead their teams to the playoffs in each of the last three seasons are Bill Belichick (New England), Tony Dungy (Indianapolis) and Mike Holmgren (Seattle). No Giants' coach had turned that hat trick since Bill Parcells from 1984-86.

The chance to watch the Giants try to mar the Patriots' perfect season isn't drawing many Big Blue fans to the stadium this Saturday. Many Giants' fans are hawking their tickets to the game to Patriots' fans who want to see quarterback Tom Brady and his teammates go for a 16-0 record in their final regular-season game. Internet auction sites that allow customers to buy and sell sports tickets have seen a surge in ticket sales for the game by Giants fans, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Tuesday.

The Giants have earned a chance to rest their weary bodies Saturday night and guarantee they'll enter the playoffs healthier than they were in either of the last two years. But the players want no part of a weekend vacation. They want their shot at the NFL's only remaining undefeated team. "Personally, I would like to ruin it for them," said center Shaun O'Hara. "Let's do it. We're playing at home, and we haven't played our best football at home. So I think it would be a great send-off." It would be more than that. It would be historic if the Giants (10-5) are able to beat the 15-0 New England Patriots at Giants Stadium on Saturday night. The Pats are trying to become the first team to go undefeated since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the Giants are the only regular-season speed bump left in their way.

Tom Coughlin sidestepped questions about whether the New York Giants will go all out to try to spoil the New England Patriots' bid for perfection. "I am not ready to even talk about that stuff today," Coughlin said Monday during a conference call. With New York's playoff picture set heading into the final week of the regular season, the logical approach would be for Coughlin to rest his walking wounded. No matter what the Giants (10-5) do against the unbeaten Patriots on Saturday night, they'll face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-6) on the road in an NFC wild-card game the following weekend. Receiver Plaxico Burress has been bothered by a sprained ankle all season, and halfback Brandon Jacobs (ankle), linebacker Antonio Pierce (ankle, hamstring) and safety Gibril Wilson (knee) have played hurt in recent weeks. Coughlin also might want to rest some of his regulars such as seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan.

Lawrence Taylor thinks Eli Manning and the Giants need to seal their playoff fate this weekend against the Bills. "If the Buffalo Bills go into this game and say, 'We're gonna load up against the run, and we're gonna dare Eli to throw the football'," Taylor was saying yesterday by cellphone, "his mentality has gotta be: 'Guess what: I'm about to have me a field day.' That's what he should be thinking." It was that swagger, that bravado, that fearlessness, that fire, which made Bill Parcells' Giants rally around Simms. Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Tony Romo - Peyton Manning, of course - they all have it. They all exude it. And it spreads like wildfire through their huddles, through their teams. Eli doesn't have it. Eli needs to find it - fast. If LT were his teammate, you get the feeling he'd jack him up by his shoulder pads, hold him in the air, and growl something like, "Son, get your head out of your [bleep] and start leading us!" "I don't know Eli; I'm not on the field with him," LT said. "I can't tell you what goes on in the huddle just from what I see on the TV set. [But] when you got that look on your face, like a ball in high grass - lost."