Come to think of it, we really haven't talked too much about Eli Manning this season, have we?

With all the discussion about Earth, Wind & Fire, Osi Umenyiora's season-ending injury, Michael Strahan's retirement, Plaxico Burress' child-care challenges and an offensive line that gets better every week, Manning has been about as inconspicuous as a Super Bowl-winning quarterback can be.

Time to put the young man back on the radar after yesterday's 37-29 win over the resurgent Cardinals.

In a game that required the services of big-time quarterback play, and in the same stadium where he put on the most breathtaking performance of his young career, Manning again summoned the wherewithal to keep the Giants' train moving at 10-1.

No Brandon Jacobs (knee) and almost no Burress (hamstring) meant the Giants needed Manning to step up in a big way against the Cardinals.

Done.

Manning put together his best performance of the season in leading the Giants to yet another win on what appears to be their inexorable march to the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs. A few hours after Brett Favre & Co. took apart the Titans and made a bold statement about their place in the AFC discussion, Manning did his part to keep the defending Super Bowl champions front and center in the NFC.

The Gotham Bowl, anyone? More on that in the days and weeks to come, I'm sure.

In the meantime, how's a three-touchdown performance against the vastly improved Cardinals on the road sound? Manning threw for 240 yards, wasn't intercepted and finished with a stellar rating of 127.3 to lead the Giants to yet another win and continued control of the conference playoff race. If the Cardinals (7-4) had any thought of closing that gap yesterday, Manning quickly and forcefully quashed that notion. Over and over again.

"I thought Eli played very, very well," said Tom Coughlin, not often given to hyperbole about any of his players, least of all the quarterback. "He took advantage of the opportunities."

Manning knew he had to have a strong game throwing the ball. For starters, the Giants were without their pounding running back, Jacobs, who sat out with a sprained medial collateral ligament suffered last week against the Ravens. Not only that, but the Cardinals typically like to put an extra defensive back - usually strong safety Adrian Wilson - in the tackle box for additional run support.

The best way to counteract the strategy is to pass the ball effectively. Not only does it move the chains, but it often makes the opponent think twice about devoting so much attention to run support.

Manning came out throwing immediately and picked apart the Cardinals' secondary on the Giants' third drive. He completed a 17-yard pass to Domenik Hixon, filling in for the injured Burress; an 8-yarder to running back Derrick Ward, a 12-yarder to seldom-used Sinorice Moss and a 3-yarder to Steve Smith to set up Ward's 1-yard rushing touchdown with 11:38 to play in the second quarter.

It was more of the same the rest of the game, as Manning took what was given underneath and didn't give Arizona a chance to create turnovers.

"We knew they'd be good at stopping the run and our receivers were going to have to be successful," Manning said. "We needed to get our passing game going a little bit, and if we did that, we'd be able to run the ball."

If there was one signature drive for Manning yesterday, it was this: The Cardinals closed the gap to 24-19 late in the third quarter on Tim Hightower's 1-yard touchdown run, capping a 12-play, 90-yard drive. Manning responded by taking the Giants 80 yards in 10 plays, essentially putting the game away. A 28-yard completion to tight end Kevin Boss was huge. Manning's 10-yard touchdown pass to Boss in traffic was even bigger.

"To know that we'd have to put the ball in the air, he went out and did that," Coughlin said of Manning. "He just continues to do whatever has to be done to win a game."

Just as he did the last time the Giants played at University of Phoenix Stadium. You remember. Last Feb. 2. Against the Patriots. Super Bowl XLII. The greatest pass-and-catch in Super Bowl history. Manning to David Tyree, who pinned the ball to the side of his head on that magnificent fourth-quarter drive that ended with Manning hitting Burress for the game-winning catch with 35 seconds left.

Manning was not in a nostalgic mood before, during or after yesterday's game. All business. Only the here-and-now for the fifth-year quarterback.

"It's a totally different feel, a different time," Manning said. "We didn't really compare it to the last time we were here. We just focused on this team and concentrated on this game."

That mantra has served him and the Giants well the last two years. No reason to change now.