McCoy comes up big against 49ers
Playing with a cracked rib, LeSean McCoy totaled 138 yards from scrimmage and showed how important he is to the Eagles' offense.
LeSean McCoy made a mistake on the Eagles' final drive, but overall, he showed once again how important he has become to the Eagles' offense.
Playing with a cracked rib, the Birds' second-year running back carried 18 times for 92 yards and a touchdown in the team's 27-17 win over the 49ers. He also caught five balls for 46 yards.
On the Eagles' final drive, McCoy took a Kevin Kolb pass 11 yards, but slid 2 yards short of a first down. Analyst Cris Collinsworth slammed McCoy on the national TV broadcast, as the Eagles were forced to punt following a third-down incompletion.
Earlier in the game, McCoy scampered 29 yards for a touchdown, putting the Eagles up, 17-3.
In the last two weeks, McCoy is averaging 156 yards from scrimmage. He looke elusive. He's breaking tackles. And he is making big plays. McCoy has had either a run or catch of 25 yards or more in four of the Eagles' five games this season. Last year, he had a play of 25 yards or more in three games all season.
NOT OVER YET...
Early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles seemed poised to take home a double-digit victory.
Quintin Mikell had recovered an Alex Smith fumble and returned it for a touchdown. On the sidelines, Smith and Mike Singletary mixed it up as the San Francisco fans chanted for backup David Carr.
Singletary stuck with Smith, though, and the 49ers scored a pair of touchdowns, cutting the Eagles' lead to 27-24. San Francisco took over at its own 32 with 1:28 left. On the final drive, rookie Nate Allen came up with a big deflection on a Smith throw intended for Gore. And Trevor Laws later came up with a big pressure as rookie Trevard Lindley reeled in an interception to seal the victory.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
* The Eagles are 3-2 and tied for first place in the NFC East with the Giants and Redskins, who both won today. The Cowboys are alone at the bottom of the division at 1-3.
* Kevin Kolb finished 21-for-31 for 253 yards and a touchdown. He started the game off on fire, completing his first nine attempts. At halftime, Kolb was 12-for-14, and one incompletion was a ball he threw away. In the second half, he was 9-for-17. He got the ball downfield more, completing a 32-yard pass to Brent Celek and a 41-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin. Maclin was the Eagles' leading receiver with six catches for 95 yards.
* Jason Peters left the game in the first half. King Dunlap replaced him at left tackle and did not look too good.
* Brodrick Bunkley left the game on the first series, and Antonio Dixon saw probably his most action of the season at defensive tackle.
* The Eagles' linebackers have been disappointing all season, but Moise Fokou and Ernie Sims came up with forced fumbles. Fokou started in place of Akeem Jordan. I'll have to double-check, but I don't think Jordan got on the field at all.
* On the 49ers' last series, after Quintin Mikell went out, three of the five players in the secondary were rookies: Allen, Kurt Coleman and Lindley.
* Juqua Parker started at defensive end for Brandon Graham. Trent Cole left the game for a stretch. Parker and Darryl Tapp filled in at right defensive end.
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