Compared to the Eagles, the Panthers (3-5) resemble the Steelers of the ‘70s. And standing next to struggling Eagle quarterbacks Doug Pederson and Donovan McNabb, who direct one of the worst offenses in NFL history, much-maligned Panther QB Steve Beuerlein looks a little bit like Joe Montana.

The butter-fingered visitors (2-7) turned the ball over five times and the grateful Panthers, who had forced a mere five turnovers all season in their first seven games, turned those Philly foul-ups into 20 easy points on their way to a laughably easy 33-7 win.

“Once we got that first turnover, we just kept them coming,” said Panther safety Mike Minter. “It snowballed.”

Usually it’s the Panthers who keep the turnovers coming (they had five last week in Atlanta), but they held on to the football Sunday.

Beuerlein, who had ample time to throw for a change, was on target for 281 yards and three touchdown passes— exactly three more than he’d had the last two weeks put together. And receivers Muhsin Muhammad (eight catches, 88 yards), Wesley Walls (seven for 70) and Patrick Jeffers (21-yard TD) had days to write home to Mom about.

Philadelphia’s beleaguered coach, Andy Reid, who has watched his team get outscored 107-48 on the road, called the game a “frustrating debacle.”

But that was being overly kind. It’s the midway point in the season and the not-so-regal Eagles look like a group of guys that just met after work last Wednesday.

The only play Philly executed properly was the last one of the first half. That’s when Pederson took a knee just the way the Eagle offensive coordinator drew it up.

Early on, the Panthers gave no indication that a blowout was in the offing.

They had to punt on their first possession, but then got a huge break when Allen Rossum muffed Ken Walters’ kick and Brian Kinchen recovered for Carolina.

The Panthers ran three ugly plays, then settled for the first of John Kasay’s four field goals for a 3-0 lead.

Most of the first quarter, the Eagles ran the ball effectively with 220-pound Duce Staley, but they killed themselves with holding penalties.

The game’s telling moment came with the second quarter two minutes old and the Panthers still leading just 3-0. The Panthers had moved a leisurely 76 yards to the Eagle 4, but once in sight of the goal they tightened up, and first- and second-down running plays failed miserably.

Panther fans, all too familiar with the team’s red zone woes, started muttering, “Here we go again.” But on third down, Beuerlein rolled and found a wide-open Muhammad over the middle for a TD and a 10-0 lead.

There was still a little fight in the Eagles at that point. But they took care of that on their next possession.

After the kickoff, the Eagles marched methodically for several first downs thanks to Staley (140 yards), but once they crossed midfield, their workhorse needed a rest. Reserve James Bostic replaced Staley, and the timing couldn’t have been better for the Panthers. Staley hadn’t even had a chance to sit down when Panther cornerback Eric Davis ripped the ball from Bostic’s arms and Minter fell on the pumpkin.

Beuerlein then engineered another drive for six points, again finding Muhammad for a finishing TD.

Now, it was 17-0 and pretty obvious to everyone — including the Eagles — that the Panthers were going to snap their two-game losing skid.

Reid then yanked journeyman Pederson in favor of rookie McNabb, a move that brought quick disaster. Sean Gilbert burst through the line to nab McNabb and ancient linebacker Kevin Greene recovered (and even returned) the ensuing fumble. That set up Kasay to make it 20-0 at the two-minute warning.

Philly then ran its two-minute offense with such precision that the Panthers got the ball back yet again before halftime, and Kasay was able to kick another field goal for a 23-0 lead.

The second half was mostly about padding stats and seeing which die-hard Panther fan could remain awake the longest.

The Panthers’ defense did continue to play well, but then again the Eagles are a snack for most everyone right now.

“But it was the kind of game we needed,” said a pleased Davis. “For a change, we did the little things right all day long.”

McNabb led a drive that ended with Staley’s 14-yard touchdown dash past Panther reserves to finally get Philly on the scoreboard with 2:37 left in the game. That score was significant only because it prevented the Panthers from claiming their first shutout since the ‘97 season.

Many of the fans left Ericsson early once again, but for a change, they left smiling about the team and about Beuerlein and telling Eagle jokes.