Eagles Stymie Comeback by Redskins to Win, 17-14

Andy Reid moved ahead of Joe Gibbs. Just barely.

In a game much tighter than form would have predicted, the Philadelphia Eagles held off the Washington Redskins, 17-14, on Sunday night at Landover, Md., winning their fifth straight and propelling Reid past Gibbs into first place in winning percentage among active coaches.

A 10-point third quarter, capped by Dorsey Levens’ one-yard touchdown run, gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead and just enough cushion to withstand a fourth-quarter Redskin comeback.

Washington converted an interception from Donovan McNabb into a two-yard touchdown run from Clinton Portis with 12 minutes 4 seconds remaining, and the Redskins drove to the Eagle 27 in the final two minutes.

But Brian Dawkins intercepted Patrick Ramsey’s pass in the back corner of the end zone with 1:46 to play, just getting his knee down as he bobbled the ball -- a decision upheld by video review.

The Eagles (12-1), who clinched the NFC East two weeks ago, secured a first-round bye. Reid’s career record improved to 68-34 (.667), ahead of Hall of Fame Coach Gibbs’ 144-74 (.661).

Reid also won’t have to break out his black spandex tights this week because Terrell Owens didn’t catch a touchdown pass. Owens has 14 touchdowns on the season, and the coach has promised to wear tights if Owens gets 15.

The Redskins fell to 4-9, assuring Gibbs of his second losing season in his 13 years.

Owens was held to six catches for 46 yards and lost a fumble at the Redskins eight-yard line in the first half.

McNabb followed his five-touchdown performance last week against Green Bay by completing 21 of 38 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Atlanta 35, Oakland 10 -- T.J. Duckett set a team record by rushing for four touchdowns at Atlanta and the Falcons clinched only the third division title in franchise history.

Oakland (4-9) had three turnovers, including an interception that was returned 39 yards for a touchdown by former Raider defensive tackle Rod Coleman.

Allen Rossum’s 50-yard punt return got the Falcons (10-3) rolling in the second quarter. Two plays later, Duckett got loose up the middle, ran through Raiders safety Stuart Schweigert and cruised 28 yards for the longest touchdown of his three-year career.

Duckett didn’t have to work as hard for his other touchdowns. Each time, the 254-yard back trotted on the field when the Falcons got close to the end zone, powering in from the two, four and one.

Baltimore 37, New York Giants 14 -- Eli Manning and the bumbling Giants (5-8) were no match for a Baltimore defense eager to atone for two straight poor performances.

Kyle Boller threw a career-high four touchdown passes, and the Ravens forced six turnovers at Baltimore.

Baltimore (8-5) converted four of the turnovers into 20 points and made life miserable for Manning, the top pick in the 2004 draft.

Manning went four for 18 for 27 yards and two interceptions -- a 0.0 quarterback rating -- before being replaced in the fourth quarter by Kurt Warner.

Buffalo 37, Cleveland 7 -- Troy Vincent had an interception, fumble recovery and sack in sparking the Bills at Orchard Park, N.Y.

The Bills (7-6) generated five turnovers, had eight sacks and limited the Browns to 17 yards of offense in 46 plays.

Cleveland had two yards with 9:34 left, flirting with the NFL record of minus-seven yards, set by Seattle in 1979.

The Browns (3-10) managed 15 yards on their final series.

New Orleans 27, Dallas 13 -- Deuce McAllister ran for two touchdowns, John Carney kicked two field goals, and Joe Horn added a 31-yard touchdown catch in the closing minutes to give the Saints (5-8) the victory at Irving, Texas.

While Dallas (5-8) has lost five games by at least 18 points this season, including drubbings by Philadelphia and Green Bay, this one will hurt more because it almost certainly eliminates them from playoff contention.

The Cowboys led, 10-0, after one quarter, but managed only one field goal the rest of the game.

Jacksonville 22, Chicago 3 -- Byron Leftwich threw two touchdown passes and the Jaguar defense constantly harassed Chad Hutchinson in a victory over the injury-depleted Bears at Jacksonville, Fla.

The Jaguars (7-6) ended a three-game losing streak and remained a game back in the crowded AFC wild-card race. The Bears (5-8), with yet another poor offensive outing, were all but eliminated from the muddled NFC postseason picture.

Denver 20, Miami 17 -- Tatum Bell ran for 123 yards and Jason Elam kicked a 50-yard field goal with 2:50 left to help the Broncos eke out a win at Denver.

Bell replaced fumble-prone Reuben Droughns early in the game and ran for two scores, but shortly after he left because of a sprained shoulder that could end his season.

Jake Plummer threw for 219 yards and two interceptions, yet the Broncos (8-5) kept pace with Baltimore for the AFC’s final wild-card spot.

The lowly Dolphins (2-11) took this game to the wire, not bowing out until A.J. Feeley threw incomplete on fourth down with 1:59 left.

San Francisco 31, Arizona 28 -- Todd Peterson kicked a 31-yard field goal with 8:38 left in overtime at Tempe, Ariz.

Ken Dorsey and Maurice Hicks, starting in place of injured quarterback Tim Rattay and running back Kevan Barlow, made the big plays for San Francisco (2-11), which had a 28-3 lead early in the third quarter.

San Francisco is 2-0 against Arizona this season.

Josh McCown, back at quarterback for Arizona (4-9) after being benched for three games, directed three second-half touchdown drives, then Neil Rackers’ 22-yard field goal with 59 seconds to go sent the game into overtime.