A FLUKE? A one-game wonder?

Not anymore. Not the No. 1-ranked running game in the NFL.

The Eagles have 1,160 rushing yards and are on a pace to break the franchise record of 2,607 yards in a season, set in 1949 (when the season was just 12 games). In case you were wondering, the Birds last led the NFL in rushing for a season in 1990.

Anybody familiar with Andy Reid's preferences had to be dumbstruck yesterday, listening to the Eagles' coach extol the joys of a ground attack. It was as if Allen Iverson suddenly started waxing poetic about the simple pleasures of a brisk but thorough practice on a chilly winter morn.

"Those guys up front really banged it around," Reid said, giving a shout-out to his offensive line and its coach, Juan Castillo. "They were able to get bodies on bodies, which is a tough thing to do. Defensive coordinators spend a lot of time protecting those linebackers, and to find a way to get up on those guys and wall them off and block them is a challenge. I thought our guys did a great job with that."

Reid continued to talk about "balance" on offense, though really, the past 2 weeks, the Birds' balance has been more or less like this: They can't seem to complete a pass. They start running effectively. Eventually, the successful running opens up a few things for the passing game, but runs remain the backbone of the attack.

Reid seems to say you take what the defense gives you and you move on. To take away Donovan McNabb's receivers, the Giants had to leave wide-open spaces in front of McNabb on several occasions.

A year ago, McNabb seemed reluctant to take off, perhaps afraid of being typecast as a "running quarterback." (And indeed, it was Bobby Douglass, in 1972, who ran for at least 100 yards twice in the same season, the last QB to do it before McNabb, who has done it twice in the past 3 games.)

Now, McNabb seems to think like his coach - if the opposition wants to give the Eagles the run, then the Eagles will run. And McNabb will run.

"He went through his progressions and then made decisions right there, as opposed to holding on to the football," Reid said, after crediting McNabb with doing "a great job."

Reid wondered whether the West Coast offense was accurately named, since he thinks each top West Coast quarterback changes the formula to fit his style.

"Each one has its own personality, and when it's all said and done, Donovan will put his mark on this," Reid said. "He just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He's doing it better than anybody right now, and that's a tribute to the kid."

Monday night, Giants linebacker Mike Barrow seemed at a loss for words.

"Since I've been here, the Eagles have never, ever been able to run on us," Barrow said. "As a matter of fact, sometimes they don't even try. That's one thing I wasn't even concerned about - them running the ball at us."