Milestone for Eagles’ Cunningham

Philadelphia quarterback Randall Cunningham passed a milestone Sunday while the Eagles’ defense taught Phoenix’s Tom Tupa a lesson.

Cunningham threw two third-quarter touchdowns to Cris Carter and passed the 10,000-yard mark for his career while Philadelphia’s defense intercepted Tupa six times and had six sacks in a 17-5 victory over the Cardinals.

Cunningham shook off three first-half interceptions to lead the Eagles (4-2) to victory and sole possession of second place in the NFC East, one game behind the New York Giants.

Cunningham, who completed just four of 11 passes for 33 yards in the first half, finished with 16 of 29 for 192 yards and has 10,111 yards in his five-year NFL career.

“I didn’t dwell on the interceptions. I just play the game and I knew we could come back in the second half,” Cunningham said. “People can say what they want about a letdown. But the key is we won the game.”

Tupa, who completed 16 of 41 passes for 266 yards, wasn’t thrilled with his debut. He hadn’t taken a snap since the preseason.

“It was a hell of an initiation into the NFL,” said Tupa, a second-year pro making his first career start in place of the ailing Gary Hogeboom, who missed the game with a sore right elbow. “I was excited about starting, but the game was something else.”

Phoenix (2-4) lost its fourth consecutive game and also lost linebacker Randy Kirk for four to six weeks with a compound fracture of his right ankle.