5 reasons the Eagles won ugly

- Remember ABC's Wide World of Sports on Saturday afternoons? Remember when it used to show the demolition derby from Islip Speedway on Long Island? That is what this game resembled, minus the charm. And that is what the first-place teams in the NFC East look like these days - a '72 Hornet with a fender partially torn off and a bumper dragging behind. Welcome to the summit, Eagles.

- The more you see DeMeco Ryans, the more you think of him as one of the great, tragic figures of this Eagles era. Because he is so well thought of by his coaches and teammates - respected, revered, all of that. And because he can be such a game-changing kind of player, as he was in the first half Monday night, with an interception that he pried out of the hands of the Giants' Larry Donnell, and a couple of big run stops, and a fumble recovery. It was his best overall play since he tore his Achilles last year. But then came the tragic part, the injury part, again. This time, it was a hamstring that took him from the game in the second quarter.

- What would the Eagles' record be if they had a consistently competent quarterback? And why is it that Sam Bradford is so incapable of avoiding either the slow start or the big mistake? In case you're counting, that was three interceptions Monday night and now nine interceptions for the season.

- The dominance of the Eagles' defensive line continues to be the reason this team is as good as it is. Fletcher Cox harassed Eli Manning all night, but he was joined in this game by Vinny Curry, Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham. They all got a piece of Manning at one time or another, and they completely controlled the game and made the Bradford follies irrelevant.

- So the DeMarco Murray we all watched last season on television is really an actual human being after all and not a fictional character? Imagine. Murray had a great third quarter, including a 12-yard touchdown run. When he got going, you just sensed the Eagles weren't going to lose the game.