Eagles nearly pull off shocker
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- No running up the score this week for the New England Patriots. This win came hard.
Asante Samuel returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown and had a second pick to shut off a late Philadelphia drive as the Patriots beat the Eagles 31-28 Sunday night to run their record to 11-0.
It was only the second truly competitive game of the season for New England, which trailed 28-24 midway the fourth period. A 69-yard drive, capped by Laurence Maroney's 4-yard run, put the Patriots ahead of the 22-point underdog.
Then Samuel's second interception finished the job. James Sanders added an interception in the final seconds to officially close it out.
"Asante has great hands, good instincts. He doesn't let too many get through his hands," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "That's what a good playmaker in the secondary does. He's been very good at that since he's been here."
This was a game in which A.J. Feeley, a career backup replacing the injured Donovan McNabb at quarterback for the Eagles, outplayed Tom Brady for most of the game.
And one in which Philadelphia cornerback Lito Sheppard turned Randy Moss, moving in on Jerry Rice's single-season mark for touchdown receptions, into nothing more than ordinary.
"You've got to give it up to Philadelphia," said Patriots receiver Wes Welker, who had a career-high 13 receptions for 149 yards. "They played their hearts out and laid it out there. We've got to come out and play better next time."
Still Patriots, who clinched the AFC East when Buffalo lost earlier in the day, survived, largely because Welker took advantage of the blanket coverage on Moss. And because of Samuel's heroics, the second interception coming in the end zone with 3 minutes and 52 seconds left after the Eagles (5-6) had reached the Patriots' 29, well within range of a tying field goal by David Akers.
The Patriots, on a quest to become the first unbeaten team in the NFL since the 1972 Dolphins, go for 12 in a row next Monday night in Baltimore, against the Ravens, then come back to Foxborough in two weeks to play Pittsburgh, which enters tonight's game with winless Miami at 7-3.
The only time New England's streak was in more jeopardy than Sunday night was three weeks ago in Indianapolis, when the Patriots rallied from 10 points down with under 10 minutes left to beat the Colts. That game was sandwiched between two routs -- 52-7 over Washington and 46-10 over Buffalo -- in which Belichick kept trying to score well into the fourth quarter.
Feeley finished 27 of 42 for 345 yards, with 3 touchdown passes, 2 to Greg Lewis and the 3 interceptions. Brady completed 34 of 54 for 380 yards and 1 touchdown, the first time this season he has been held under 3 TD passes in a game.