Down 14, Eagles Score Next 34 : NFC: Philadelphia breaks out of slump, puts Giants’ playoff chances in jeopardy, 47-34.

It looked like more of the same for the Philadelphia Eagles, who had lost four of their last six games.

The Eagles fell behind by 14 points before scoring 34 consecutive points Sunday to beat the New York Giants for the eighth time in nine games, 47-34.

“This is only one game, but it definitely is a big game for us,” said Keith Byars, whose 38-yard touchdown reception on a broken play early in the third quarter put Philadelphia (7-4) ahead to stay.

“It was a must have. I don’t think about if we lose. If we lose and drop down to 6-5, we’re really in trouble.”

The Giants (5-6) are the team in trouble.

The loss bothered Coach Ray Handley so much he didn’t bother to stick around and answer questions after giving an injury report and his assessment of the game.

“I’ll accept responsibility for the loss today,” Handley said. “You just can’t worry much about this because we don’t have too much time to get ready for Dallas (on Thanksgiving).”

New York trails the second-place Eagles by three games in the NFC East, while the Washington Redskins could also go three games ahead on New York by beating the New Orleans Saints tonight.

“I think it’s bad,” Giants’ cornerback Mark Collins said when asked about the playoffs. “We just have to come back. We have to do something.”

Randall Cunningham, who completed 10 of 21 passes for 209 yards, broke a 20-20 tie with the 38-yard play to Byars.

Then the Eagles’ special teams took over. Ken Rose blocked Sean Landeta’s punt, picked it up at the New York three and scored.

Minutes later, Vai Sikahema, who had two long kickoff returns to set up touchdowns, fielded a punt at his 13 and went 87 yards--the longest punt return in Eagles’ history--for a touchdown and a 40-20 lead. Roger Ruzek missed his second extra point after the run.

Rookie Kent Graham replaced Jeff Hostetler (11 of 28 for 154 yards) after the Giants’ quarterback sustained a concussion midway through the third quarter. Graham gave New York some life with a 17-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass to Ed McCaffrey that made it 40-27.

However, Philadelphia’s Heath Sherman scored on a 30-yard run to stretch the lead to 47-27.

New York capitalized on two of Philadelphia’s four first-half turnovers to build a 20-6 lead.

Greg Jackson’s interception on the Eagles’ first series set up a 35-yard field goal by Matt Bahr. A 14-yard scoring pass from Hostetler to Dave Meggett extended the margin to 10-0 late in the quarter.

Sikahema, who had five kickoff returns for 123 yards, got the Eagles going with a 41-yard return that led to Cunningham’s 21-yard scoring pass to Herschel Walker.

On the ensuing kickoff, Meggett ran 98 yards for a touchdown, the Giants’ first kickoff return for a touchdown since Rocky Thompson did it in 1972.

After a 44-yard field goal by Bahr, linebacker Seth Joyner started the turnaround when he intercepted Hostetler’s pass and ran 43 yards for a touchdown to start the Eagles’ 34-point run.