Wentz, Eagles keep Giants on the skids

Carson Wentz threw a season-high three touchdown passes, and the Eagles got an early lift from their defense and special teams in beating the struggling Giants 34-13 on Thursday night, avoiding their first three-game losing streak since the 2016 season.

Wentz sandwiched touchdowns passes of 13 and 1 yard to Alshon Jeffery around a 10-yarder to tight end Zach Ertz to help the Eagles (3-3) build a 31-6 lead. They beat the Giants (1-5) for the fourth straight time and seventh time in eight games.

Corey Clement scored on a 1-yard run, and Jake Elliott added field goals of 33 and 30 yards for the defending Super Bowl champions.

Rookie halfback Saquon Barkley scored on a 50yard run and rushed for 130 yards in one of the few bright spots for the Giants’ offense, which was booed repeatedly. and Adam “Pacman” Jones that helped the Steelers pull out an 18-16 playoff win in the 2015 season.

“We can’t have any dumb penalties, any outbursts, anything like that,” cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said. “We’ve got to stay focused. It’s Pittsburgh week. Everybody’s going to be hyped up, ramped up.”

The AFC North rivalry has big implications for a mid-October game. The Bengals (4-1) are off to their best start since 2015, when they won the division, and could put some distance between themselves and the Steelers (2-2-1). A loss would essentially even things up. The teams end the season with a game at Heinz Field.

The Chargers have used five kickers during coach Anthony Lynn’s first 21 games. If Caleb Sturgis’ quadriceps doesn’t feel a lot better soon, they’ll employ a sixth Sunday against the Browns.

Lynn doesn’t know why his team can’t find a durable, reliable foot. He’s simply looking for a solution.

“Frustrating or not, we’ve got to fix it,” he said.

The kicking saga took another twist this week when Sturgis, who won the job out of training camp, revealed his strained quad. Sturgis missed a field goal and an extra point and delivered a couple of short kickoffs during a 26-10 victory over the Raiders. Sturgis also missed two extra points in the previous game against the 49ers.

The Chargers even cut Sturgis’ holder last week in an attempt to address the problem, but now the kicker has come up injured. The Chargers (3-2) signed Michael Badgley, a rookie from Miami.