Week 12: Eagles' Studs And Duds
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- It was the appetizer to the entree. It was the previews to the movie. It was the pre-game to the party. And now, we're three days away from the main course---the Dallas Cowboys.
Before we officially welcome you into Dallas Cowboys week, let's take a look at the studs and duds from the Eagles' dominant 43-24 over the Tennessee Titans.
Duds
3. Casey Matthews
Matthews, playing inside linebacker all game, tallied one total tackle. Just one more than me and you, respectively.
2. Emmanuel Acho
Titans tight end Delanie Walker beat Acho down the field and rumbled for 68 yards to the Eagles' 13 yard-line, setting up a Shonn Greene touchdown run to bring the Titans to within six points.
To make matters worse, Acho injured his hamstring on the play.
1. Mark Sanchez
Not that he had an awful game, but heading into a huge contest in Dallas against the Cowboys, Sanchez is the No. 1 concern. Why? Because he continues to turn the ball over. Against the Titans in a blowout win, Sanchez threw two more interceptions, despite completing 30 of 43 passes for 307 yards.
He has to take care of the ball on Bird Day.
Studs
3. Josh Huff
Full disclosure: I've been Huff's biggest critic. Throughout the season, while he can be dynamic at times, he's made more bone-head, negative plays than positive ones. Well, yesterday, Huff took the opening kick off 107 yards to the house, a franchise long.
It was Huff's first-career touchdown and the first time the Eagles scored on the opening kickoff of a game since Brian Mitchell did so on November 4th, 2001 at Arizona.
2. The pass rush
You can't say enough about the Eagles pass rush. With five more sacks (Connor Barwin 2, Trent Cole 2, and Fletcher Cox 1), the Eagles now have 38 for the season, which is second best in the NFL and just one sack behind the leader, Buffalo, who plays Monday night.
Barwin has a career high 12.5 sacks so far this year, after his fourth multi-sack game of the season.
Mychal Kendricks also had another outstanding performance, leading the Eagles in tackles with seven.
1. LeSean McCoy
Humble brag: I wrote last week the criticism surrounding was unfair and lazy, predicting he would go run at least 150 on the ground. Well, he went for 130 and silenced the critics.
It was McCoy's 22nd career 100-yard game and his third in the last six contests. The Eagles are 19-3 in those 22 games when McCoy goes for 100 yards on the ground.
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