Patriots get by Eagles

New England actually had to work for this victory.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — 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 its 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, finally put the Patriots ahead of the 22-point underdog.

Then Samuel’s second interception finished the job. James Sanders added on in the final seconds to officially close it out.

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.

Still the Patriots muddled through, largely because Wes Welker took advantage of the blanket coverage on Moss to catch 13 passes for 149 yards. 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, within range of a tying field goal by David Akers.