BY Ralph Vacchiano
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Tuesday, November 17th 2009, 4:00 AM

It had been more than a month since the Giants have had a weekend as good as this past one. Now all they have to do is make sure their good fortune pays off.

While the Giants were enjoying their much-needed bye week, there was carnage in the NFC East on Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys were both dragged back to the pack by disheartening losses. So when the Giants (5-4) returned to work yesterday they found themselves just one game back in the race for the division title and in a four-way tie for the NFC's two wild-card spots.

"Lucky for us it puts things back in reach," said defensive end Justin Tuck. "But we still can't worry about what other people did. We have to go out there and win games for ourselves."

The Giants, who left for the bye week on a four-game losing streak, couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Not only did the standings tighten up, but key injuries to several teams reinforced the notion that in the NFL things can change very fast. The Cowboys (6-3), who were starting to look like they were capable of running away with the division, looked terrible in a 17-7 loss in Green Bay. Their offense couldn't score a touchdown until the game was all but over, and they lost starting right tackle Marc Columbo to a broken leg.

Meanwhile, the Eagles (5-4) put up more of a fight in San Diego, but still lost, 31-23. They also lost running back Brian Westbrook who, in his first game since suffering a concussion on Oct. 26, suffered yet another concussion, leaving his status for the stretch run in doubt.

And that wasn't all. The Atlanta Falcons, who are tied with the Giants in the wild-card race and play the Giants on Sunday, may be without their best player, running back Michael Turner. He suffered a high ankle sprain against the Bucs and his loss would be huge since he's rushed for 428 yards in the last three games. And Kyle Orton, quarterback of the Denver Broncos, whom the Giants play on Thanksgiving night, was knocked out on Sunday with an ankle injury as well.

All of a sudden, the Giants are facing two straight games against struggling, banged-up opponents - not to mention a division that's falling apart.

TURNING CORNER: CB Aaron Ross (hamstring) participated in the Giants' hour-long practice yesterday, so he still appears to be on track to make his season debut on Sunday. The only player who did not practice was RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot).