Battling Eagles prove Patriots vulnerable
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 to run their record to 11-0.
It was only the second truly competitive game of the season for New England, who trailed 28-24 midway through 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.”
But at least the Eagles were competitive against a team which had won its first 10 games by an average of 25 points. The Patriots had a seven-point lead twice, 7-0 and 14-7, but that was as large as either team led all game.
And the Eagles led for much of it in a contest 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. Philadelphia corner back Lito Sheppard turned Randy Moss, moving in on Jerry Rice’s single-season mark for touchdown receptions, into nothing more than ordinary.
It was the Patriots’ smallest margin of victory this season, and it comes just a week after a huge blowout of the Buffalo Bills and their largest victory margin.
The Patriots had clinched the AFC East earlier in the day when Buffalo lost, but that didn’t seem to be a factor.
But Brady struggled at times against Philadelphia’s blitzes, making up for the blanket coverage on Moss by throwing underneath to Wes Welker, who had 13 receptions for 149 yards. They also needed both of Samuel’s interceptions, the second 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, who have lost five straight. Then they come back to Foxborough in two weeks to play Pittsburgh, which enters Monday night’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 less than 10 minutes left to beat the Colts. That game was sandwiched between two routs — 52-7 over Washington and 56-10 over Buffalo — in which Belichick kept trying to score well into the fourth quarter.
* WASHINGTON Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot and wounded early yesterday at his Miami residence.
The Redskins, who did not disclose any details about the incident, said Taylor is undergoing treatment at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Miami Dade police are investigating the shooting.
