Redskins Ground Eagles

It was redemption time for the Washington Redskins’ much-maligned defense.

Two impressive fourth-quarter defensive stands, and scores on four straight possessions in the middle of the game helped the Redskins claim first place in the NFC East with a 26-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Linebacker Ken Harvey, who had a fumble recovery and two sacks, said the defensive players were eager to erase the sting of two straight losses in which Washington surrendered 75 points and 1,091 yards.

“Off of last week’s loss (a 37-34 overtime defeat to Arizona), we had to learn a little something,” Harvey said. “This time when the opportunity was there, we took advantage of it.”

Washington took an early 10-0 lead and never trailed, although the Eagles crept back in the game and had two late chances to score the potential game-winning points.

Trailing 23-21, Philadelphia got the ball back at its 17 with 4:40 to play, but the visiting Redskins forced an impressive three-and-out that ended with the Eagles punting on fourth-and-25 at their own 2.

On first down, Rich Owens stopped Watters for an 8-yard loss. On second down, Harvey sacked Ty Detmer for a 7-yard loss that was close to being a safety.

“We tackled Watters for a loss, and that sets a tempo,” Redskins coach Norv Turner said. “Our guys got revved up.”

After Scott Blanton’s fourth field goal increased the Redskins’ lead to five, the Eagles got the ball with 1:15 to play and drove 52 yards to get a first down on the Washington 20 with 24 seconds to play.

The Redskins’ secondary forced four straight incompletions to seal the victory.

“We had four good shots,” wide receiver Irving Fryar said. “We just didn’t come up with it.”

Dolphins 23, Oilers 20

At Houston, Joe Nedney’s 29-yard field goal as time expired at the Astrodome was the game-winner for the Dolphins, who allowed Houston to score touchdowns on its first two possessions.

The Dolphins, who blocked a punt and succeeded with a fake punt, took a 20-17 lead on Zach Thomas’ 26-yard interception return for a score one play after Karim Abdul-Jabbar lost a fumble at the Houston 1. After Al Del Greco’s field goal tied it, Dan Marino moved Miami into position for Nedney’s winning kick.

Chiefs 14, Bears 10

All the scoring came in the first half at Kansas City as the Chiefs held the Bears, who had run for 356 yards in their two previous games, to just just 35. Mark Collins’ end zone interception clinched the victory.

Steve Bono passed 20 yards for a touchdown to Chris Penn and Kimble Anders ran for a 10-yard score for Kansas City. Derrick Thomas sacked Dave Krieg twice in the fourth quarter, making Krieg the most sacked quarterback in NFL history with 485, two more than Fran Tarkenton.

Steelers 28, Jaguars 3

At Pittsburgh, the Steelers got back at Jacksonville as Yancey Thigpen caught two touchdown passes in his first start of the season.

Carnell Lake, untouched on a safety blitz, returned a fumble 85 yards for a TD after the only sustained drive of the day by the Jaguars.

Bills 31, Bengals 17

At Rich Stadium, Buffalo had seven sacks and linebacker David White returned Ki-Jana Carter’s fumble 12 yards for a touchdown. Jim Kelly scored on a quarterback sneak and threw for 199 yards for Buffalo, which now is alone atop the AFC East.

It was the first loss for the Bengals since coach Bruce Coslet took over from Dave Shula four weeks ago.

49ers 38, Ravens 20

At San Francisco, Elvis Grbac, called “an embarrassment to humankind” by San Francisco mayor Willie Brown after a critical interception last week, was 26 for 31 for 268 yards and a touchdown in a steady San Francisco rain. Chris Doleman recovered a fumble in the end zone for another score for San Francisco.

Baltimore led 20-17 until William Floyd’s 1-yard TD run in the third quarter. The Ravens were forced to play most of the game without Vinny Testaverde (rib injury), who left early in the second quarter and was replaced by Eric Zeier.

Panthers 20, Rams 10

At St. Louis, Steve Beuerlein, starting for the injured Kerry Collins, directed two third-quarter touchdown drives and Anthony Johnson ran for 123 yards as the Panthers won for only the second time in six road games.

Beuerlein was just 4 for 14 in the first half, but 6 for 7 in the third quarter as the Rams slid back after scoring 59 points against Atlanta last week.

Buccaneers 25, Chargers 17

A week after upsetting the Raiders in Tampa, the Buccaneers surprised the Chargers at Jack Murphy Stadium, just their second win in 21 games on the West Coast.

The defense held the Chargers to only three points in the final 49:12. Donnie Abraham’s interception set up Michael Husted’s 27-yard field goal and John Lynch’s 25-yard interception return set up Errict Rhett’s go-ahead, 1-yard dive with 6:02 left.

Colts 34, Jets 29

In Indianapolis, the Colts forced five turnovers, four on interceptions of Frank Reich. Richard Dent sacked Reich for a safety, and Eugene Daniel had two interceptions, returning one 35 yards for a touchdown as the Colts snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Jets led 29-26 early in the fourth quarter after a 32-yard pass to Jeff Graham, his third touchdown reception of the game. But then came Dent’s safety, and two field goals by Cary Blanchard, one aided by two New York pass interference calls.

Falcons 17, Saints 15

At Atlanta, the Falcons, who had just one interception all season, got two against New Orleans and Eric Metcalf scored his first touchdown of the season.

Cornelius Bennett and Brad Edwards had interceptions in the first quarter as New Orleans turned over the ball on its first three possessions. Bobby Hebert threw an 8-yard TD pass to Metcalf and a 5-yarder to Terance Mathis.

Cardinals 31, Giants 23

At Phoenix, Arizona avenged a loss two weeks ago as the revitalized Boomer Esiason threw two TD passes and directed two other scoring drives.

Dave Brown threw two touchdown passes to Tyrone Wheatley for the Giants, who turned the ball over three times.

Vikings 16, Raiders 13 (OT)

At Oakland, Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak and handed the Raiders their second straight overtime defeat when Scott Sisson kicked a 31-yard field goal with 3:07 left in overtime at Oakland.

The Vikings also had an 82-yard scoring pass from Brad Johnson to Jake Reed, and Terry McDaniel returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown for Oakland, now 0-6 this season in games decided by less than a touchdown.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST

Quarterbacks Frank Reich 20-42-352-3-4 Trent Dilfer 30-40-327-0-1 Elvis Grbac 26-31-268-1-2

Running backs Terrell Davis 32-154-3 Lamar Smith 33-148-1 Barry Sanders 16-134-1

Receivers Jeff Graham 9-189-3 Jake Reed 4-134-1 Chris T. Jones 7-103-1