by By Jeff McLane; Inquirer Staff Writer , The Philadelphia Inquirer

And the original game plan did feature an assortment of blitz packages. But things changed and McDermott showed the type of in-game adjustment that was an unknown coming into his first season as the Eagles defensive coordinator.

"If the offense is going to keep eight guys in to protect [and] we're going to cover [the receivers], I'm not going to keep hitting our head on the wall," McDermott said. "It's not going to give."

What did give was Manning. He gave quite a bit away, in fact. The quarterback threw two costly first-half interceptions and was errant on many other throws in the Eagles' 40-17 dismantling of the Giants yesterday. While the offense got back on track after two off-weeks, the defense held an opponent under 17 points for the fifth straight game.

"Sean had a great feel for the game," Eagles defensive end Darren Howard said.

"Our game plan called for a lot of blitzes, but we didn't end up calling a lot. We got enough pressure from our four-man rush and our [defensive backs] did a good job of covering guys up."

McDermott estimated that he called blitzes 30 percent of the time heading into the fourth quarter. And while Manning was sacked just twice, he was pressured enough that he attempted some ill-advised passes and heaved a few floaters. Each type of throw was intercepted.

After the Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 lead, Manning, on the Giants' third play from scrimmage, tossed a short pass in the direction of tight end Travis Beckum over the middle. Asante Samuel, Mr. Bait-and-Switch, was covering.

"I don't know why he'd throw the ball to the tight end with the corner covering him," Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown said.

Samuel leaped in front of Beckum for the cornerback's fifth interception of the season, returning the pick 37 yards. Four plays later, the Eagles hit pay dirt.

"I went to the right place [and] threw to the right read," Manning said. "I've just got to see [Samuel]. He's on a tight end, he's going to cheat."

One of Manning's floaters was especially ill-timed. Trailing by 23-7, the Giants had the ball at their own 30-yard line when Manning overthrew Sinorice Moss, and Eagles safety Quintin Demps pulled in his first career interception.

The Eagles scored another seven points off that turnover, essentially sealing the contest.

They entered the game leading the NFL in turnovers and now have 21. The Giants also fumbled away the second-half kickoff.

The Eagles defense, meanwhile, did enough against the run to force Manning to drop back.

Brandon Jacobs finished with 86 yards on 20 carries. But the mammoth running back was mostly an afterthought as the Giants played catch-up.

"The game plan was to first stop the run," Howard said. "That was hit-or-miss. But we got those turnovers early and when the offense put points on the board early, it forced them to be a little more desperate with their passes."

Linebacker Akeem Jordan led the Eagles with seven tackles, but there were notable performances from Sean Jones and Trent Cole.

Jones started at free safety for the first time with the Eagles . Rookie Macho Harris, who had started the previous six games, was out with an ankle sprain, but coach Andy Reid said that Jones would have started anyway.

Cole, who has been a thorn in side of Manning and New York in the past, did not produce eye-popping numbers. But he registered two quarterback hurries and, along with the rest of the four-man front, allowed McDermott to ease off the blitzes.

Contact staff writer Jeff McLane

at 215-854-4745 or jmclane@phillynews.com.

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