Knee Jerk Reactions: Eagles Stay Alive With Win Over Bills
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- LeSean McCoy started the day off by being named as the only Buffalo Bills captain, kissing the logo, and hugging Jeffrey Lurie.
He finished the day as a loser -- in the both literal and figurative sense -- as his team lost the Eagles 23-20 and he ran off the field and refused to speak to reporters after the game saying, "I got nothing to say."
• McCoy in first half: 12 carries for 63 yards
• McCoy in second half: 8 carries for 11 yards
• McCoy for the game: 20 carries for 74 yards
• It was a weird game.
• Neither team played well really and neither team made many plays, nor mistakes
• The Eagles just made a few more than the Bills…and we'll certainly take it
• Sam Bradford had arguably his best game as an Eagle
• While his numbers weren't all that special (23/38, 247, 1 TD, 1 INT) he passes were crisp and accurate from start to finish
• And the interception -- which should have been called incomplete (the refs were terrible all day, but that's becoming normal now) -- wasn't his fault.
• He also dealt with at least five to six drops, some egregious too.
• The running back situation, carries wise, unraveled as follows: Ryan Mathews (13), DeMarco Murray (11), Darren Sproles (7),and Kenjon Barner (0)
• Sproles led the group with 41 rushing yards and also had big 28-yard punt return late
• Zach Ertz had five catches for 98 yards including a huge 41-yard "get off me" catch and run to set up the go ahead field goal.
• Nelson Agholor had a 53 yard touchdown! Hallelujah!
• But he finished with just three catches on six targets.
• The Eagles' WR's still stink: 21 total targets, 11 catches
• Dennis Kelly's back-to-back holding penalties showed Jason Peters' importance, who left the game for a brief moment.
• Peters is obviously an integral part of the success of the offense.
• Fletcher Cox (8 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 1 QB hit) and Malcolm Jenkins (8 tackles) continue to lead this team
• Mychal Kendricks also had 8 tackles and played a very nice game
• Brandon Graham was also all over the place, despite recording just three tackles.
• Byron Maxwell quietly continues to slowdown elite WRs
• Bills WR Sammy Watkins did have an early 47 yard touchdown on Maxwell, but Ed Reynolds took a bad angle and was late, providing the expected safety help
• Watkins had just four catches for 34 yards on 11 targets, other than the TD
• Reynolds ended the game by intercepting a pass on the same exact type of coverage -- this time Reynolds was early and took a good route on an overthrown ball
• Caleb Sturgis didn't miss a FG and Donnie Jones is consistently fantastic at punting
• 6-7 doesn't look like much on paper, but the Eagles still control their own destiny in the NFC East and -- at the very least -- it provides hope to the team and the fan base
• Like Malcolm Jenkins said post-game, back-to-back December wins is always a tough thing to accomplish.
