Eagles Notes: Eagles' return man Lewis deactivated after car accident; Brown gets opportunity for redemption

Dion Lewis was involved in a car accident that forced the Eagles running back to miss Sunday night's game against the Cowboys.

The rookie was not seriously injured, the team said, but Lewis was shaken up enough that the Eagles decided not to dress him. Ronnie Brown, who returned to the Eagles two weeks after a trade with the Lions was voided, took Lewis' place returning kicks.

Lewis was at Lincoln Financial Field but watched the game from the sideline in street clothes.

Two weeks ago, it appeared as if Brown had played his last game in an Eagles uniform. The seven-year veteran was dealt just before the trade deadline to the Lions in exchange for running back Jerome Harrison and a 2012 second-round draft pick.

Brown said that he was in Detroit attending a meeting when he found out the trade had been negated. During Harrison's physical, the Eagles discovered that he had a brain tumor.

Both players returned to their former teams, and Brown faced the uncomfortable prospect of returning to a team that did not want him.

Acquired as a free agent early in training camp, Brown was expected to be the big-back complement to starter LeSean McCoy. But he gained only 38 yards on 13 carries in the first four games and didn't play in the next two after he unwisely fumbled just shy of the goal line against the 49ers.

Lewis had seemingly replaced Brown as the backup running back, so the trade with the Lions did not come as much of a surprise.

Brown had a chance to earn back his spot, however - or at least get back in Andy Reid's good graces - with Lewis out. He had never returned a kick in the NFL before his 25-yard return that opened the game.

And since the Cowboys offense was terrible, Brown was not needed to return many kicks.

Before the season, Eagles special team coordinator Bobby April mentioned that Brown could be option in the return game.

With Trent Cole back in the fold, the Eagles defensive line was back to its sacking ways.

At least they were in the first quarter.

Buoyed by the return of Cole, who missed the previous two games with a calf strain, the Eagles sacked Dallas quarterback Tony Romo twice on the Cowboys' first possession. Defensive end Jason Babin recorded the first sack and defensive tackle Trevor Laws picked up the second for his first of the year.

Cole added his fourth sack of the season in the second quarter.

The Eagles, with 18 sacks in six games, entered the game second in the league in sacks per pass play. They had 15 in their first four games but only three the last two games without Cole.

The front four narrowed its gap on many obvious run downs, but both those sacks came when the ends were lined up in the wide nine.

Linebacker Akeem Jordan suffered a concussion in the first half and did not return. . . . LeSean McCoy's 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave the running back a score in each of the Eagles' seven games this season. His streak is the second-longest in team history behind only Steve Van Buren, who scored in eight straight games in 1947. . . . In addition to Lewis, tackle Winston Justice, safety Jarrad Page, defensive end Phillip Hunt, linebacker Keenan Clayton, cornerback Curtis Marsh, and guard Julian Vandervelde were inactive.