PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Eagles made their first win at Lincoln Financial Field an adventure.
The Eagles nearly squandered an 11-point lead with under two minutes remaining before holding on for a 27-25 victory over the NFC East rival Washington Redskins.
Brian Westbrook's 19-yard touchdown run with 3:11 remaining in the contest had given the Eagles a seemingly safe 27-16 lead. But the Redskins nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback.
Patrick Ramsey quickly drove the Redskins into field goal range, where John Hall drilled a 53-yarder with 1:14 to play.
Hall then converted a perfect onside kick that Bryan Johnson recovered at his own 43. Five plays later, Ramsey found Darnerien McCants down the middle for a 32-yard touchdown, pulling the Redskins within 27-25 with 13 seconds to go.
Following a timeout, Ramsey overthrow a wide-open Laveranues Coles in the right corner of the end zone on the two-point conversion, allowing the Eagles (2-2) to escape with their first win in three tries at home.
"I overthrew the ball, it's as simple as that," Ramsey said. "He got open and he did a good job and I just hurried up and threw the pass."
Trying to put the Rush Limbaugh controversy behind him, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb had an unspectacular game. He completed 16-of-30 passes for 157 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who reacted angrily to Limbaugh's comments, had praise for McNabb.
"He'll do what it takes to win and he'll play his heart out," Lurie said. "If it takes a run, a scramble, or a pass. It's not about statistics with him. It's not about making sure he has a high completion percentage. It's really about leading the team. I think he has a really good awareness of winning football games. That's why his winning percentage is so high."
Ramsey also ran one yard for a touchdown in the second quarter for the Redskins (3-2), whose five games have been decided by a total of 13 points.
"The Eagles are good enough that you can't spot them a couple of touchdowns and we did that," Redskins coach Steve Spurrier said. "We finally got a little bit of offense, but didn't finish drives. I'm frustrated with all of these guys and they're probably frustrated with me."
The Redskins have lost both of their divisional games this season and are 1-7 against NFC East opponents since Spurrier took over as coach.
"We got something to prove. We have to prove we can win in our division," Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington said.
Eagles defensive end N.D. Kalu, a former Redskin, made perhaps the game's biggest defensive play, in the third quarter to snap a 13-13 tie. From his own 20, Ramsey came under heavy pressure from Darwin Walker and lofted an ill-advised pass to his left that Kalu intercepted and rumbled 15 yards to the end zone, giving the Eagles the lead with 3:25 left in the period.
"Don't fumble. That's all I was thinking," Kalu said. "I knew if I didn't score, our offense would punch it in. I just wanted to make sure I held on to the ball, because I've seen too many times when defensive guys get the ball knocked out of their hands."
"He changed the whole momentum of the game," Walker said. "You've got to give credit to him. He's a great athlete. He made that play and he got a touchdown. That's a D-line's dream."
Ramsey struggled for much of the game against the Eagles' blitzing style as he completed 25-of-50 passes for 271 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Ramsey also was not helped by a running game that produced just 49 yards.
It also was a struggle for the Redskins' offensive line, which was called for six false start penalties.
"We need to communicate with one another better and fix the problems now," Redskins right tackle Jon Jansen said. "I know that I am being vague right now but we have to communicate better."
Ramsey directed a nine-play, 55-yard drive on the Redskins' second possession of the fourth quarter. The drive featured a 15-yard completion to McCants and a roughing penalty on Walker.
But the drive stalled at the Eagles 19 and Hall kicked a 37-yard field goal with 8:56 remaining, pulling the Redskins within 20-16.
The Eagles, who struggled for much of the game offensively, responded with an 11-play, 70-yard drive.
On 3rd-and-5 from midfield, McNabb scrambled to his left for six yards. He also had a 10-yard completion to fullback Jon Ritchie to the Washington 31.
"You talk about getting it done. He (McNabb) does it in so many ways, it's tough on defenses," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.
Westbrook also had a key third-down conversion. On 3rd-and-3, he took a pitch from McNabb and ran five yards. The speedy second-year back busted through the line for a 19-yard TD run on the next play, giving the Eagles a 27-16 lead.
"It was a wide open hole," said Westbrook, who rushed for 64 yards on 11 attempts. "Tra (Thomas) did a job of opening the hole. Jon Ritchue took care of LaVar (Arrington) and John Welbourn opened it up.
Westbrook also sealed last week's 23-13 win at Buffalo with a 62-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
After David Akers kicked a 52-yard field goal in the opening quarter to give the Eagles the lead, they extended the lead early in the second.
Coles had a pass deflect off his hands and cornerback Roderick Hood, one of four youngster seeing time in the Eagles' injury-depleted secondary, came down with his first career interception at the Redskins 18.
Five plays later, McNabb hit Ritchie over the middle for a four-yard touchdown, giving the Eagles a 10-0 lead with 11:28 left in the half.
Redskins linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who was making his return to the Philadelphia, came up with a big defensive play later in the second quarter.
Trotter stepped in front of a screen pass and came up with an interception that he returned 21 yards to the Eagles 1.
A two-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker, Trotter spent the first four years of his career with the Eagles before leaving the franchise after the 2001 season in a bitter contract dispute.
Three plays later, Ramsey dove over fron one yard to pull the Redskins within 10-7 with 5:56 left in the half.
On the Eagles' next play from scrimmage, McNabb hooked up with Freddie Mitchell on a 39-yard completion down the right sideline. That helped set up Akers' 36-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the half.
But Ramsey was able to direct a quick scoring drive that resulted in a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left before intermission, pulling the Redskins within 13-10.
Hall capped a nine-play, 55-yard drive with a 45-yard field goal 7:27 into the third quarter, tying the game at 13-13.
