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Monday November 26, 2:23 PM Patriots remain unbeaten with American football triumph over Eagles Photo: AFP Click to enlarge FOXBORO, Massachusetts (AFP) - The New England Patriots held off the determined Philadelphia Eagles 31-28 here Sunday to preserve their unblemished record in the National Football League. While the Patriots improved to 11-0, the triumph was far from the blowout that seemed on the cards when Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was ruled out of the game with ankle and thumb injuries. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 380 yards but was held to just one touchdown pass - a season low - and was sacked three times. A.J. Feeley, filling in for McNabb, threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions. "They really got up and challenged our recievers," Brady said of the Eagles defense. Brady and the vaunted New England offense came into the contest having scored a league record 411 points in 10 games - including a 56-10 rout of Buffalo last week. Less than two minutes into the game, it appeared the Pats were poised to deliver another thrashing when cornerback Asante Samuel intercepted a Feeley pass intended for Brian Westbrook and ran 40 yards for the first touchdown of the game. But the Eagles refused to be intimidated, responding with a 77-yard drive capped by a touchdown run by Westbrook. Brady and his offense finally got their first opportunity in a 10-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Heath Evans's one-yard scoring run and a 14-7 New England lead. However, two touchdown passes by Feeley to Greg Lewis gave Philadelphia a 21-17 lead and silenced the crowd of 68,756. Brady's 19-yard scoring pass to Jabar Gaffney gave the Patriots a 24-21 halftime lead - their narrowest at home all season. And the Eagles took a 28-24 lead into the final quarter courtesy of Feeley's eight-yard TD pass to Reggie Brown. Brady, however, responded with a scoring drive that ended with Laurence Maroney's four-yard touchdown run and a 31-28 Patriots lead. It looked as if the Eagles might respond again, but Samuel intercepted a Feeley pass in the end zone. The Patriots were already assured of the AFC East division title when they took the field, after Buffalo fell 36-14 to Jacksonville earlier in the day. Brady said the Patriots could have done a lot of things better, but credited the Eagles for keeping them under pressure. "We try to play as good as we can every week," Brady said. "The goal is to win the game, and we did that." It marked just the fourth time an NFL team has clinched a playoff berth by the 11th game since the league went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. In other games, turnovers proved the undoing of both the Washington Redskins and New York Giants. The Redskins gave up six turnovers to hand Tampa Bay a 19-13 victory that saw the Buccaneers maintain their two-game lead in the NFC South. The Buccaneers played more than three quarters without quarterback Jeff Garcia, who suffered a bruised back on the opening play, but their defense helped seal the victory. The Redskins fumbled four times, including on their first two possessions, and Jason Campbell threw two fourth-quarter interceptions. Turnovers were also key as the Minnesota Vikings intercepted Giants quarterback Eli Manning four times in a 41-17 rout. Dwight Smith hauled in two interceptions, including one for a 93-yard touchdown return, and Darren Sharper and linebacker Chad Greenway also scored off interception returns for the Vikings - who went into the game as the NFL' worst-rated passing defense. "We've been ridiculed a lot as a defense, so for us to come out and make plays today, it's huge," Smith said. "Maybe it will give us confidence and we can keep it going." The Chicago Bears kept the playoffs in their sights with a 37-34 overtime victory Denver. Robbie Gould kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime and Devin Hester returned both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns as the Bears stunned the Broncos, who led by 14 with less than six minutes in regulation. Seattle defeated St. Louis 24-19, the Seahawks holding on for the victory when the Rams mis-handled a snap on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line with 29 seconds to play. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 37-31 as linebacker Tully Banta-Cain recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 5:02 remaining in overtime. Niners quarterback Kurt Warner gave up the fumble on a sack by tackle Ronald Fields. The error overshadowed a spectacular day in which Warner passed for an NFL season-high 486 yards. The New Orleans Saints snapped a two-game skid with a 31-6 victory over the Carolina Panthers, and San Diego beat Baltimore 32-14. In Cleveland, the Browns beat Houston 27-17, and in Cincinnati the Bengals beat Tennessee 35-6. The Oakland Raiders snapped a nine-game losing streak to division rivals Kansas City as they beat the Chiefs 20-17.