There is a football adage as old as a Carolina Panthers quarterback, and it held last night.

According to the saying, in order to be successful in the NFL, a team has to be able to run the ball and stop the run.

Well, the Eagles certainly ran the ball better than the New York Giants.

In fact, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb ran the ball better than the Giants.

McNabb caught the Giants lacking several times last night and turned what otherwise was an ugly, warthog of a game into a nice stretch of football with his magnificent scrambling.

This time, instead of Giants defensive end Michael Strahan dominating as he has in recent Eagles-Giants games, he made McNabb's highlight film.

It was out of Strahan's grasp that McNabb scrambled for a 40-yard touchdown with 10 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game.

That score sealed the 17-3 victory for the Eagles, and left Strahan perhaps wishing for his buddy Keith Hamilton, the injured defensive tackle.

The Giants could have used Hamilton, a veteran run-stuffer, because the Eagles didn't just turn loose McNabb.

Sure, McNabb ran for 111 yards on seven carries, but, for the second straight week, running back Duce Staley put on a clinic.

Staley ran 24 times for 126 yards. Perhaps his biggest play came on the 99-yard drive that McNabb punctuated with his 40-yarder.

On first and 10 from the Eagles' 12-yard line, Staley took the ball from McNabb, started right, and cut back to the left, where he found a gaping hole and sped 17 yards.

That got the Eagles out of dangerous territory in what was then a 9-3 game.

It was one of several big gains the Eagles got on that left side behind Tra Thomas and John Welbourn.

It was not a good night for the defensive right side of the Giants' line, Kenny Holmes and Lance Legree, who replaced Hamilton.

Backup running backs Dorsey Levens and Brian Westbrook got into the act, too.

Mostly, though, it was McNabb and Staley.

The pair became the first duo to each run for 100 yards or more for the Eagles since Charlie Garner and Ricky Watters did it against the Washington Redskins in 1995.

Staley, who was instrumental in helping the Birds run out the clock late in the game, also passed Timmy Brown to reach fifth on the Eagles' all-time rushing list.

For the Giants, Tiki Barber, who historically has been an Eagles killer, didn't embarrass himself, but he didn't embarrass Philadelphia, either.

McNabb gave notice early that he intended to mess with the heads of Giants defenders.

The Giants would be thinking of Staley and how he unhinged a very tough Tampa Bay defense last week with a 152-yard rushing performance, and all of a sudden McNabb starts to gash them by scrambling.

The game was only four plays old when the Eagles' quarterback, either by design or by cunning, started to drop back and then blasted right up the middle for 38 yards.

That's the kind of stuff that sends linebackers to therapy. They're thinking, "Should I drop back in coverage or should I stay up close in case he runs? Drop back? Stay close? Drop back? Stay close?..."

You really couldn't tell if it was a quarterback draw or not. I guess that's the idea. How nerve-racking that must be.

You plan to stop Staley and a tough running game, and then McNabb finds the running game in the passing game.

That play would set the stage for more uncertainty, and McNabb, along with his running backs, would exploit it.

McNabb kept scrambling away from Giants pass-rushers, and Staley, Levens and Westbrook all broke plays of 15 yards or more before halftime.

The running game was the backbone of the Eagles' attack early, gobbling up yardage and starving the New York offense.

Philadelphia had the ball 20 minutes and 31 seconds of the half, leaving the Giants the ball just a little over nine minutes.

In that short span, New York quarterback Kerry Collins could get little going, and runners Barber and Ron Dayne were all but bottled up.

Barber did burn the Eagles once, though, during the Giants' only fruitful drive of the half.

On first and 10 from the Giants' 49-yard line, Barber took the handoff, started off left tackle, and then bounced outside, reeling off a 31-yard run.

New York would ultimately get its only points on a 26-yard field goal.

The Eagles had nearly 200 yards rushing in the first half, with McNabb accounting for 70 on just five carries.

Staley, who came into the game with 381 yards rushing this season, carried the ball 11 times for 64 yards in the half. Levens had 32 and Westbrook 29.

That's what I call commitment to the running game.

The Giants weren't ready for that. Aside from the Tampa Bay film, they had been used to seeing McNabb air it out.

Last night, Strahan and company got a close look at the helmets and shoulder pads of the Eagles' offensive linemen, and the backs of McNabb, Staley, Levens and Westbrook.

Barber, on the other side of the ball, wasn't having his usual romp, though he didn't do badly.

The Giants' back had 52 yards in the first two quarters, but he didn't get those impact plays we have seen him get too many times against the Birds.

The 31-yard burst was the only play of that ilk for Barber.

And as he suffered, so did the Giants' offense.