This Philadelphia Story Mostly About Defense : Pro football: The Eagles get back into NFC East race by defeating the Redskins, 28-14.

Reggie White and his defensive teammates proved Coach Buddy Ryan’s point Monday night that defense can score as well as offense.

The defense set up or scored three touchdowns in a span of 3:51 late in the third quarter to break a 7-7 tie and lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a 28-14 victory over the Washington Redskins.

The defense knocked out both of the Redskins’ active quarterbacks, Jeff Rutledge and Stan Humphries, forcing reserve running back Brian Mitchell, a wishbone quarterback in college at Southwestern Louisiana, to finish the game.

The victory put the Eagles (5-4) back in the middle of the NFC playoff race. The Eagles won their third straight since a 13-7 loss at Washington, pulling them into a tie with the Redskins, four games behind the unbeaten New York Giants in the NFC East.

Two of Philadelphia’s touchdowns came directly from the defense, a 30-yard interception return for a score by William Frizzell in the first quarter and an 18-yard fumble return by Clyde Simmons in the middle of the third quarter.

It was a wakeup call for the Eagles, who led the league in turnover ratio with a plus 24 last year but started Monday night’s game at minus three.

“No doubt about it, it was one of the best defensive games we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Ryan said.

Randall Cunningham, who passed for 132 yards and ran for 42, and Heath Sherman, who rushed 124 yards in 35 carries, led the offense.

White’s 33-yard return with the first interception of his career set up Cunningham’s two-yard touchdown pass to Sherman.

The fourth touchdown came after a sack by White stuffed the Redskins inside the 10, leading to Keith Byars’ nine-yard pass on an option to Sherman.

With 30 m.p.h. wind gusts hindering the offenses, the teams went off at halftime tied 7-7 on Frizzell’s return and an eight-yard touchdown pass from Rutledge to Don Warren.

Rutledge, who passed for 363 yards in the second half indoors last week in a 41-38 overtime victory over Detroit, couldn’t cope with the Eagles or the weather this time. He completed six of 19 attempts for 63 yards before leaving in the third quarter with an injury to his right thumb.

White knocked Humphries out of the game with a knee injury in the fourth quarter, and on came Mitchell to lead a 56-yard drive capped by his own one-yard dive.

Mitchell was the first player in NCAA history to pass for over 5,000 yards (5,447) and run for over 3,000 (3,335). The Redskins drafted him on the fifth round.