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PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Washington Redskins are starting to come up with the big plays that are the trademark of first-place teams. Darrell Green's 33-yard interception set up Michael Husted's 24-yard field goal with four seconds remaining as the Redskins rallied for a 17-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. "The last play, that's the defensive line's interception," said Green, who atoned after getting burned on the Eagles' two touchdown passes. "They had the guy (McNabb) on the run at that point. I just kind of waited for it and got to it." Aided by a challenge to Deion Sanders' apparent fumble on a punt return late in the fourth, Washington (4-2) posted its third straight victory since a 1-2 start. The Redskins moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC East, one-half game game ahead of the New York Giants, who are facing Atlanta today. In last week's 20-17 overtime victory over Tampa Bay, cornerback Deion Sanders' 57-yard punt return led to Husted's game-winning 20-yard field goal. "This team's got great character and a bunch of guys who are willing to fight and compete no matter what happens," Washington coach Norv Turner said. "If you have that, you have a chance." Today, Sanders nearly turned from the hero to the goat as his fumbled punt twas recovered by Philadelphia's Mike Bartrum at the Redskins 25 with 2:42. But Washington coach Norv Turner challenged the call on the field and after looking at the replay, the officials ruled Sanders down by contract. After picking up two first downs, the Redskins were forced to punt, with the Eagles taking over at their 24 with 40 seconds left. After getting sacked for a three-yard loss on first down, McNabb elected to pass on the next play, and it turned out to a fatal mistake for the Eagles, who had the Redskins on their heels for most of the second half. "I felt the pressure from the back side and saw that they were playing deep," McNabb said. "I tried to get the ball out of bounds while I was throwing. I guess I needed to get it more to the right. It was a critical play and something that I will think about, especially when I watch the film." Eagles coach Andy Reid defended the decision to have his quarterback put the ball in the air with 40 seconds on the clock. "No. 1, they have timeouts remaining and we wanted to take our safest throw and we did," Reid said. "We moved him out of the pocket and took a shot at it. We wanted to press it downfield." Washington survived to win for just the second time in its last 11 visits to Veterans Stadium. "I've been coming here seven years as a head coach and this is the second time that we've won," Turner said. "We're going to take the win. We're excited to get it and we're going to go home and get better." However, Redskins defensive end Bruce Smith was angry that the Redskins allowed the Eagles to hang around until the final seconds. "We have to learn how to put people away," Smith said. "We can't allow teams to linger around, linger around, and then in the fourth quarter, it's anybody's ballgame. We need to be able to get a lead on a team and be able to dictate to them." After Green returned Donovan's errant pass to the Eagles 19, Stephen Davis ripped off a 13-yard gain to the 6. Husted, who missed two field goals earlier in the game, split the uprights to give the Redskins the victory. "It's not easy to get a win in this league," Husted said. "I don't care what kind of team you have. Every team is capable of winning any given Sunday, as the movie says." Despite gaining 227 yards in the first half, the Redskins could manage only one touchdown -- a 12-yard run by Stephen Davis on the Redskins' first possession of the game -- and settled for a 7-7 tie at the intermission. Brad Johnson completed 25-of-36 for 288 yards for Washington, while Davis rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Late in the first half, wide receiver Albert Connell got into a heated exchange on the sidelines with receivers coach Terry Robiskie and had to be restrained by teammates. Despite the temper tantrum, Connell ended up as the Redskins' leading receiver, grabbing six passes for 83 yards. Washington faced more adversity in the third quarter when receiver Irving Fryar was carted off the field on a stretcher with shoulder and neck injuries. He was hurt in a helmet-to-helment collision with Eagles' safety Tim Hauck. "I don't know how severe," Turner said. "Darrell Green led our team in prayer. There's concern about it and hopefully, it's not as serious as it appears." McNabb put the Eagles in position for their third straight victory, completing 17-of-34 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. "He is definitely on his way," Green said of the second-year quarterback. "He lets the run set up the pass. When I am a grandfather, he'll still be throwing in this league. He has got all the tools." Philadelphia's running game suffered with the absence of Duce Staley, who could be sidelined for several weeks and perhaps the entire season after suffering a foot injury last week against Atlanta. Philadelphia rushed for just 79 yards on eight carries, with McNabb gaining 43 yards on five carries. Former Redskin Brian Mitchell rushed just three times for eight yards. But the Eagles tied to overcome the loss of their leading rusher, tying it on the second quarter on McNabb's 30-yard TD pass to Charles Johnson that capped a 94-yard drive. NcNabb's eight-yard TD toss to Na Brown three seconds into the final period gave Philadelphia a 14-7 lead. The Redskins appeared to be driving for the tying score, but Brad Johnson's pass deflected off tight end Stephen Alexander into the hands of safety Damon Moore for an interception. Washington got a huge break when Moore fumbled while returning the interception, with wide receiver James Thrash recovering at the Eagles 15. "I was just trying to make a play, trying to make something happen," Moore said. "It was a crucial play in the game and I just remember trying to switch the ball to the other hand. It happened so fast I honestly don't remember." The Redskins needed just two plays to get into the end zone as Johnson's 12-yard pass to running back Mike Sellers set up Skip Hicks' three-yard TD run around right end with 10:15 to play. After an exhange of punts, the Eagles looked to get into field- goal range with less than three minutes remaining. But on 3rd-and-2 from the Philadelphia 41, McNabb overthrew a wide-open Mitchell, forcing the Eagles to give up the ball again.
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