PHILADELPHIA − The Eagles took the gift-giving spirit of Christmas a little too literally on Monday.

After building a 17-point lead in the first half, the Eagles gifted the Giants two touchdowns in the third quarter − the first on a fumbled kickoff to start the second half, the second a pick-6 thrown by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Just like that, the Eagles' lead was down to 2 points, and fans were chanting "Run the ball!" That is, when they weren't booing.

Finally, the Eagles listened. Hurts led a touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter on D'Andre Swift's 5-yard touchdown run, and the Eagles held off the pesky Giants 33-25.

The Giants had one last chance to tie the game, but quarterback Tyrod Taylor's last-second pass into the end zone was intercepted by rookie Kelee Ringo.

"Everything for us up to this point has been kind of self-inflicted and little things," Hurts said. "I think there are a ton of opportunities to build on from this, just like there have been a ton of opportunities to build on the lessons we have learned in the games that we’ve come up short in.

"The reality is that you have to keep growing and keep learning from it."

The Eagles (11-4) ended their three-game losing streak, and moved back into sole possession of first place in the NFC East, one game ahead of the Dallas Cowboys, who lost Sunday to the Miami Dolphins.

If the Eagles win their remaining two games − against Arizona at home next Sunday and at the Giants on Jan. 7 − they'll win the NFC East.

LIVE ANALYSIS: Eagles vs Giants score: Eagles gift 2 touchdowns as big lead vanishes; Tommy DeVito benched

But once again, this was hardly a thing of beauty − on either side.

It was more understandable for the Giants (5-10), as they were starting Tommy DeVito, their third-string quarterback. DeVito was benched at halftime as the Eagles took a 20-3 lead.

Hurts, meanwhile, had a strong game for the most part. But he was far from perfect, finishing 24-for-38 for 301 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The interception was costly as Hurts was going for tight end Dallas Goedert on the sideline around the Giants' 20 yard line late in the third quarter, leading 20-10, and seemingly on the verge of putting the game away.

But Goedert fell, and the ball went right to cornerback Adoree Jackson, who returned it 76 yards for a touchdown. Hurts was then called for a horse-collar tackle in the end zone, and the Giants took the penalty and went for a 2-point conversion.

Just like that, the Eagles' lead was down to 20-18.

"Man, I won’t be able to sleep tonight," Goedert said. "I slipped, I fell. I have to clean up my detail. I’ll have to look at the film, but I probably cut off the wrong foot, and lost my footing. I can’t do that in that situation. Can’t do that ever."

By this point, Eagles fans were in full throttle chanting of "Run the ball!", only to boo louder when Lane Johnson was called for holding as Hurts threw the ball on first down. They booed again on 2nd-and-20 when Hurts threw a short pass to Julio Jones for a 5-yard gain.

Then Jason Kelce was called for a false start, setting up a 3rd-and-20.

Clearly, the Eagles weren't going to run there.

That's when Hurts rolled to his right to escape pressure, and found A.J. Brown down the sideline for 32 yards and a first down at the Giants' 42.

And then the Eagles actually ran the ball. Kenny Gainwell picked up 22 yards. The fans roared their approval, as if they called that play.

"We knew we put ourselves back on that drive, being 3^rd-and-20," wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus said. "Somebody had to make a play. AJ and Jalen and the O-line, everybody made a play. It was a huge moment for us."

Then Swift finished off the drive with a 5-yard TD run with 11:07 left. The Eagles went back up by 9 points, then added a field goal.

But the Giants weren't done. Tyrod Taylor, who replaced DeVito, hit Darius Slayton for a 70-yard touchdown, and just like that, the Giants were back within five points.

The Eagles, however, kept running the ball.

Swift rushed for 92 yards on 20 carries, finishing 12 yards shy of 1,000 yards for the season.

"It was real big to get that going," Swift said about the running game. "Any time one of our numbers gets called, we try to execute for the team."

In all, the Eagles rushed for 170 yards on 35 carries, and had 465 yards of total offense.

Hurts set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback on his first-quarter "tush push," the result of a gift from Eagles punt returner Britain Covey, whose 54-yard punt return allowed the Eagles to start at the Giants' 13.

That was Hurts' 15th rushing TD of the season, breaking Cam Newton's record in 2011.

The Eagles led 14-3 on Hurts' 36-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith. That reception put Smith over 1,000 yards for the second straight season.

But Hurts made his first mistake near the end of the first half, the Eagles leading 17-3 and looking for a touchdown to end the half.

With no timeouts and about 15 seconds left in the half, Hurts escaped pressure from the Giants' 15 and ran along the sideline. Instead of going out of bounds to stop the clock, Hurts cut back inside and was tackled.

The clock would have run out, but Giants Bobby Okereke was called for delay of game as he refused to allow Hurts to get up. That stopped the clock with 4 seconds left. Jake Elliott then came on to kick a field goal.

"It's simple. I made a mistake," Hurts said.

Still, that field goal was a milestone of sorts for the Eagles. They reached 20 points in the first half, which was more points than they have scored in any of their previous three games.

But things rarely come easy for the Eagles. On the opening kickoff to start the second half, returner Boston Scott ran into Zaccheaus and fumbled the ball away.

The Giants recovered at the Eagles' 14, and scored a touchdown three plays later on Saquon Barkley's 7-yard TD run.

"That’s on me," Zaccheaus said. "I gotta be better."

So do the Eagles as a whole. They managed to build a big first-half lead. And then they almost blew it.

"We needed to get out of the funk that we were in, and sometimes that’s just by getting a win," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "I thought there were a lot of good things out there ... Obviously, the negative things, the turnovers.

"We have some things to clean up in two-minute drill as well. But I'm excited to be able to clean those up after getting a win."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Philadelphia Eagles get in Christmas spirit, nearly gift game to Giants