FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Philadelphia Eagles gave the rest of the NFL a smidgen of hope last night: they showed that the New England Patriots can be 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, last night to run their record to 11-0.

It was only the second truly competitive game of the season for New England, which 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 that 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 game in which A.J. Feeley, replacing the injured Donovan McNabb at quarterback for the Eagles, outplayed Tom Brady for most of the game. Philadelphia cornerback Lito Sheppard turned Randy Moss, moving in on Jerry Rice's single-season mark for touchdown receptions, into nothing more than ordinary.

"I went into the game expecting the unexpected," said Feeley, who may be back on the bench next week when the Eagles play Seattle. Coach Andy Reid said he expected McNabb to be back.

It was the Patriots' smallest margin of victory this season, and it comes just a week after a huge blowout of Buffalo and their largest victory margin.

"Three points, man. Three points. The Patriots and three points," said Reid, whose team also lost the 2005 Super Bowl to New England by three. "They're killing me with it."

The Patriots had clinched the AFC East earlier in the day when Buffalo lost, but that didn't seem to be a factor.

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.

"You got to give it up to Philadelphia, they played their hearts out and laid it out there," Welker said.

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 tonight's game with winless Miami at 7-3.

Feeley finished 27 for 42 for 345 yards, with three touchdown passes, two to Greg Lewis and the three interceptions. Brady completed 34 for 54 for 380 yards and one touchdown.