Eagles romp over Giants in NFC East clash

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll (23) celebrates his 17-yard interception for a touchdown with outside linebacker Connor Barwin (98) and free safety Malcolm Jenkins (27) against the New York Giants during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Josh Huff (13) makes a catch and leaps over the tackle attempt of New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) reaches for the end zone for a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper (14) celebrates his touchdown catch with tight end Brent Celek (87) during the first quarter against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) breaks away from the tackle attempt of Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Connor Barwin (98) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray (29) reacts after a 12 yard touchdown run against the New York Giants during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles intercepted Eli Manning twice and returned one of them for a touchdown, and Philadelphia beat the New York Giants 27-7 Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field to take over first place in NFC East.

The Eagles (3-3) are tied with the Giants (3-3), but head-to-head competition is the first tiebreaker, so the Eagles are alone in first for now. The Dallas Cowboys (2-3) had a bye this week, and the Washington Redskins (2-4) are last in the division.

The big play of the game came when cornerback Nolan Carroll picked off a Manning pass and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. The Giants never scored again.

Manning, who completed his first 10 passes, finished 23 of 37 for 200 yards and one touchdown. The quarterback, who was sacked just four times in the Giants’ first five games, was sacked four times Monday night and was penalized twice for intentional grounding.

The Giants got a boost when they found out before the game that Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. would be active. Beckham, who missed practice all week with a sore hamstring, caught seven passes for 61 yards and scored New York’s only touchdown on a 13-yard reception in the first quarter.

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford completed 24 of 38 passes for 280 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Riley Cooper. Bradford also threw three interceptions. Running back DeMarco Murray had his first 100-yard rushing game with the Eagles, finishing with 109 yards on 22 carries.

The Eagles led 17-7 in the third quarter when they marched downfield on an 85-yard, 11-play drive that was helped by a roughing-the-punter call against Giants defensive tackle Nikita Whitlock that gave Philadelphia a first down on it 28-yard line. Instead of getting the ball back with good field position, the Giants were back on defense.

The Eagles took advantage, finally scoring on a 12-yard run by Murray. He stiff-armed a defender and bounced to the outside to give the Eagles a 24-7 lead with 6:13 left in the third quarter.

The Philadelphia defense held back the Giants in the fourth quarter, and Caleb Sturgis kicked a 39-yard field goal to make it 27-7 with 8:19 left in the game.

The Giants took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in eight plays for a touchdown, and they made it look easy. Manning completed all five of his passes, including a 13-yarder to a slanting Beckham that gave the Giants a 7-0 lead with 10:23 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles got that back after linebacker DeMeco Ryans did something that teams hadn’t done much against Manning this season — he intercepted a Manning pass, taking the ball away from tight end Larry Donnell on the Eagles 22. It was only the third time this season Manning was picked off.

The Eagles scored the tying touchdown when Cooper got behind safety Brandon Meriweather and cornerback Jayron Hosley and caught Bradford’s 32-yard pass in the end zone to make it 7-7 with 3:33 left in the opening period.

The Eagles took their first lead after they intercepted Manning again. Carroll cut in front of intended receiver Dwayne Harris, then picked off Manning’s pass and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown to put Philadelphia ahead 14-7 with 12:26 left in the second quarter.

At the end of the first half, the Eagles padded their lead to 17-7 when Sturgis kicked a 37-yard field goal.

NOTES: The Giants were without four starters, including WR Victor Cruz, who missed his sixth consecutive game with a calf injury. … Also sidelined for New York were CB Prince Amukamara (pectoral, replaced by Jayron Hosley), LB Devon Kennard (hamstring, replaced by Mark Herzlich) and DE Robert Ayers Jr. (hamstring, replaced by George Selvie). … The Eagles played without rookie WR Nelson Agholor (sprained ankle), their first-round draft pick from Southern California. Josh Huff started in his place. … The Eagles were also without LB Mychal Kendricks (hamstring) for the fourth week in a row. Kendricks, who signed a four-year, $29 million contract extension ($16.4 million guaranteed) in the offseason, also missed all or parts of five games last year with a calf injury. Rookie Jordan Hicks started in his place Monday night.