Eagles Prevail as McMahon Takes Over Reins : NFC: Philadelphia defense forces five Green Bay turnovers and the veteran backup quarterback passes for 257 yards.

Jim McMahon’s sunny afternoon on the sidelines ended quickly Sunday when Randall Cunningham went limping off the field with a knee injury, perhaps lost for the season.

McMahon threw a few hurried warm-up passes and then took over against the Packers, a team he’d beaten often during his career with the Bears.

It turned out to be like old times. McMahon threw two touchdown passes and the Eagles’ defense, led by Reggie White, had four sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in a 20-3 victory. It gave Rich Kotite a victory in his Eagles’ coaching debut.

“My confidence level has always been the same,” said McMahon, who threw only 12 passes last season as Cunningham’s backup.

“When I’m in the game, I expect to make big plays. That’s my job, why they brought me here. I didn’t know how bad Randall was. Usually he rolls around a bit and jumps back up.”

McMahon completed 17 of 25 passes for 257 yards and passed to Fred Barnett for a 75-yard touchdown to clinch the victory with 6:51 left.

Once entering the game early in the second quarter, McMahon led the Eagles to a 10-0 lead with 9:15 left in the first half when he completed a bizarre 32-yard touchdown pass to Keith Byars. The pass was nearly intercepted by the Packers’ Chuck Cecil, who dropped the ball as he was hitting the ground. The ball popped out and Byars, headed for the ground himself, caught it for the touchdown.

Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski, in his first regular-season game since rotator cuff surgery last December, wasn’t sharp, completing six of 21 first-half passes and throwing three interceptions during the game.

“Obviously this wasn’t a great way to start, a rough day,” said Majkowski, who finished with 16 completions in 42 attempts. “I’ve never seen so many batted balls in my life.”