LeSean McCoy found his footing in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 43-24 victory over the Titans.
It started with Josh Huff returning the opening kickoff for a 107-yard touchdown for a franchise record. From the opening seconds of the game onward, the Philadelphia Eagles led the Tennessee Titans and never looked back, winning the match-up handily with a final score of 43-24.
The Birds quickly extended their lead to 14-0 after a rushing touchdown by Darren Sproles. But the biggest story this game was another Philadelphia running back. LeSean McCoy finally got things going and by the end of the day, accumulated 130 yards over 21 carries and 1 touchdown, including one electrifying 53-yard run.
What made the difference in the Eagles’ ground game? Shady said that everything just finally clicked.
“We just stuck to it… everybody focused in and had a terrific week of practice and we just stuck to it. I think everybody executed, they got the backs in one-on-one situations. The guys up front really, really blocked well. Even the guys outside, the wide receivers, they blocked well too so it was just all together.”
While beating the Titans by a margin of 19 points, there remains a number of concerns about the Birds on both sides of the ball. Leading Philadelphia to its second win in his three starts, Mark Sanchez demonstrated that there is still reason for concern with his propensity for turning over the ball. He finished the day 20/37 for 332 yards and a touchdown, but also hit a pair of interceptions. Heading into Dallas for NFC East supremacy on Thanksgiving Day, handing out the early holiday gifts in the form of turnovers by the Eagles has got to stop.
The defense allowed a team averaging just under 17 points a game to score 24. They allowed Zach Mettenberger, a rookie quarterback and the backup of a backup, to rack up numbers better than the Eagles’ own signal caller: Mettenberger was 20 for 39, totaling 345 yards on the day with two touchdowns and an interception. That, very simply, is not okay.
In positive play on defense, Connor Barwin continues to be a sack-racking beast, adding two more to his count on Sunday, as did Trent Cole. And kudos to the D for forcing three turnovers by the Titans, a needed counterbalance to an offense that truly needs some help for it’s addiction to giving the ball away.
While he missed a field goal, Cody Parkey continues to be an incredible pickup by the Eagles. On the season he is 23 of 25 FGs, and yesterday made 5 of 6 attempts, including a 50-yarder.
There have been no write-ups of this Eagles team this season, now 8-3, that hasn’t commented on the various areas of concern for the team. But all of it said, discussed and analyzed, you still have a team with a great record. They find ways to win, even when it appears that they are looking for every way they can to undermine that. But for this Philadelphia team to go the distance, they’ve got to start doing it against winning teams, a test that they’ll face over the next three games.
Next stop for the Eagles is Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. Chants of “We want Dallas” were heard throughout the Linc on Sunday. Those chants will grow ever-louder across the Philadelphia region as the big game on the big day gets closer.
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Brandyn Campbell of Philly Sports Muse, for War Room Sports
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