It took only a couple of seconds last night for Brian Mitchell to hit a milestone that actually was a career in the making.

On the opening kickoff, the Eagles return man surpassed 21,000 total yards for his career. Walter Payton and Jerry Rice are the only other players in NFL history to reach that mark.

Mitchell went into the game against the New York Giants needing just 16 yards to reach 21,000. His breakdown going in included NFL records of 12,197 kickoff-return yards and 4,528 punt-return yards.

He returned the opening kickoff 26 yards to hit 21,010.

Later in the first quarter, running back Duce Staley passed Timmy Brown to move into fifth place in career rushing yards as an Eagle. Brown, who was with the team from 1960 to 1967, rushed for 3,703 yards. Staley pulled within striking distance of Ricky Watters, who ran for 3,794 yards in just three seasons with the team.

After Watters, Staley can catch quarterback Randall Cunningham (4,482) this season. He will have to wait to make a run at the Big Two: Wilbert Montgomery is first at 6,538 yards; Steve Van Buren is second at 5,860.

Nobody's perfect. David Akers, who was 12 for 12 on field-goal attempts through the first six games, missed a 50-yard attempt in the first quarter. The kick went wide right.

Akers made his next three attempts, hitting from 27, 36 and 35 yards to give the Eagles a 9-3 halftime lead.

Sheppard in the flock. Rookie cornerback Lito Sheppard, the Eagles' first-round draft pick, was active for last night's game. Sheppard drew attention for being a healthy inactive last week, when the Eagles beat Tampa Bay, 20-10.

Safety Rashard Cook, who aggravated a knee injury last week, was inactive. Sheppard dressed in his place.

Linebacker Keith Adams, who was claimed off waivers from Dallas last week, also dressed and played on special teams. That was a mild surprise, since Adams had only a few practices to get acclimated to the Eagles' schemes.

With Adams up, rookie linebackers Justin Ena and Tyreo Harrison were inactive. So were the usual suspects: rookie offensive linemen Scott Peters and Artis Hicks, wide receiver Freddie Milons, and injured defensive end Derrick Burgess.

Ouch Dept. Eagles linebacker Carlos Emmons left the game in the third quarter after aggravating a hamstring injury. Ike Reese replaced Emmons on the strong side. Emmons strained the hamstring in the season opener in Tennessee. He played through it until the bye week, when he had a chance to rest the leg. Emmons said last week's game against Tampa Bay was the first time he felt healthy since the opener.

Giants wide receiver Ike Hilliard was knocked out of the game with a dislocated right shoulder in the third quarter. Hilliard was hurt when safety Brian Dawkins drilled him near the Eagles' 5-yard line after an incomplete pass. Dawkins was called for unnecessary roughness on the play.

Dawkins appeared to be injured as well. He stayed down for a long time, and several teammates were seen kneeling and blessing themselves. But Dawkins jumped up, ran off the field under his own power, and missed only the one play mandated by rules after an injury time-out.

Rookie Michael Lewis went in to replace Dawkins for the play.

Celeb spotting. Actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe were guests of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. They were on the field before the game.

Phillippe and Witherspoon are married. Their attendance at the game was a birthday gift from Witherspoon to her husband. Phillippe is from New Castle, Del., and grew up an Eagles fan. His birthday was Sept. 10.

Popular recording artist Toya sang the national anthem. It was not the St. Louis native's first time at Veterans Stadium. She performed at halftime of the Eagles' playoff victory over Tampa Bay in January.

Also in the house: Ed Rendell, the former mayor and current candidate for governor, and Ron Wolf, the former general manager for Green Bay.

A big rush. The Eagles ran the ball 39 times for 299 yards - both team highs under coach Andy Reid. They averaged 7.7 yards per carry.

Staley led the way with 126 yards on 24 carries. Donovan McNabb ran for 111 yards on seven carries.

It was McNabb's second 100-yard game of the season and the third of his career. His career high for a game was 125 yards against Washington in 1999. He ran for 100 yards in the Eagles' loss to Jacksonville earlier this month.

Reporter detained. Ed Hilt, a reporter for the Press of Atlantic City, was detained for 45 minutes by security at the stadium for possession of a tape recorder.

Hilt was assigned to write a story about security and fans at the last Monday night game ever at Veterans Stadium. He was using a tape recorder for his interviews. A security guard spotted the recorder and told Hilt he was not allowed to have it at the stadium.

Although Hilt was wearing a press credential, he said Event One security guards took him to the police headquarters at the stadium. He was released after 45 minutes but said he had to turn over the tape from his recorder. The tape, Hilt said, included interviews he had done with fans outside the stadium.

Mike Shepherd, sports editor of the Press, called the incident "shameful and indefensible." Shepherd said he would file a formal complaint and demand an apology.

Event One officials could not be reached for comment.

Intro-less. The Giants refused to participate in the traditional pregame introductions. Their entire team ran onto the field, leaving public-address announcer Dan Baker to name all of New York's offensive starters.

That didn't stop the sellout crowd from expressing its opinion of each of the Giants.

And so on. Last night's game was the first on a Monday night at the Vet since 1998, when the Dallas Cowboys whipped the Eagles, 34-0. It is the last scheduled Monday night game at the stadium. The Eagles are expected to open next season in their new stadium... . The Eagles will have today off, then resume practice tomorrow. They will travel to Champaign, Ill., on Saturday for their game Sunday against Chicago. The Bears are playing at the University of Illinois while Soldier Field is being refurbished. The Bears are 2-5 after losing, 25-7, to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday... . The Eagles' 5-2 start is their best since 1996, when they were 5-2 after seven games and got to 7-2 before losing three in a row. They finished 10-6 that year... . The Eagles are 7-0 in prime-time games under Reid, including 3-0 on Monday Night Football... . Their all-time record against the Giants is 61-74-2.