EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -The New York Giants are going to find out quickly whether the bye week helped them discover why opposing receivers are running free in their secondary.

Santana Moss and the Washington Redskins coming to town.

``If you're smart, you look at the scouting report on the Giants and say if you throw the ball, there's a higher percent chance of winning,'' Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said.

The statistics through three games support that theory.

The Giants (1-2) are giving up an average of 281 yards passing, 29th in the 32-team NFL. They have also given up eight touchdown passes, second worst in the NFL.

In the Giants' last game, Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck exposed New York's revamped secondary by matching his career best with five touchdown passes. Four went to wide-open receivers.

Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and secondary coach Peter Giunta went over the coverages repeatedly with the defensive backs during the bye week, and both say the problem is more mental than physical.

``If it's physical and guys can't do things, then you'd really be concerned,'' said Giunta, adding he has to do a better job getting the players ready. ``We can remedy these things. They're very correctable errors.''

The Giants will face a major challenge going against the Redskins (2-2) and Moss, the NFC offensive player of the week.

Joe Gibbs' team has won two in a row and it is coming off an impressive 36-30 overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that was supposed to have one of the top defenses in the league.

Washington shredded them for 481 yards, including 329 passing by Mark Brunell. Moss did the big damage, catching four passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns, including a game-ending 68-yarder.

The last time Moss lined up against the Giants on Dec. 24, he caught five passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns.

Moss wasn't ready to predict another big game Wednesday.

``I have never been a guy to shoot his horn before the time,'' Moss said. ``I know the Giants aren't stupid. They know what I can do. They saw it last week and the last time we played them. I don't know what to expect from them, so I expect the worst - triple team, double team, whatever. I don't go into a game expecting something because of what happened last year.''

Moss will be seeing new cornerbacks. Former Miami Dolphin Sam Madison signed with Giants in the offseason and Corey Webster got the other job.

Will Allen and Will Peterson had been the Giants cornerbacks in recent years.

Madison said Brunell, who hit 22 straight passes against Houston two weeks ago, has been doing an excellent job spreading the ball to his receivers in recent weeks.

Madison said the key to covering Moss is to stay close, especially after a catch.

``Santana is like a punt returner in open space,'' he said. ``It's pretty hard to get him down. You have to stay close to him, read the formations and sets because they run a lot of different things in a lot of different ways to try to get him the football.''

The Redskins have other threats. Antwaan Randle El has 12 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown and Brandon Lloyd has six receptions.

``I think certainly the last two weeks have been a big improvement for us,'' Washington coach Joe Gibbs said. ``It's been a step up. The whole offense just played better. Now, we also know that last week doesn't buy you anything in the NFL. You go from week to week up here, and certainly we had better be ready to give our absolute best effort.''

New York's defensive backs feel the same way about themselves.

``We have a lot of confidence,'' Webster said. ``Right now we're exaggerating everything to make sure it becomes second nature to us. A lot of people like to say we have some new people and we're still jelling together, but I think we're very confident right now. We want to show the world.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.