Buffalo Bills vs Philadelphia Eagles Box Score on Dec 13, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Dec 13, 2015

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles ruined LeSean McCoy's homecoming and kept pace in the NFC East race with a 23-20 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles stay tied for first place on NFC East with the Washington Redskins, who beat the Chicago Bears 24-31 on Sunday, and are now a half-game ahead of the New York Giants, who play Miami Monday night.

The Eagles scored the game-winning points on Caleb Stugis' 30-yard field goal with 3:26 left to play, which was set up by a 41-yard catch-and-run by tight end Zach Ertz, who broke two tackles and stiff-armed another defender to pick up an 15 yards.

McCoy, the Eagles' all-time leading rusher, was traded to the Bills in the offseason and he did not leave on good terms with coach Chip Kelly. And McCoy, who said this past week that he would not shake hands with Kelly, ended up with 74 yards on 20 carries.

Eagles running back DeMarco Murray also made news when it was revealed that he talked to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie about his lack of playing time last week against New England, when he was on the field for just 14 snaps and eight carries. Murray carried the ball 11 times vs. the Bills for 34 yards while Ryan Mathews carried the ball 13 times for 38 yards and Darren Sproles had seven attempts for 41 yards.

Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed 19 of 36 passes for 268 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford completed 23 of 38 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The Eagles led 20-13 in the third quarter when a 19-yard touchdown run by backup running back Mike Gillislee tied it up. The Eagles also scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game, a 6-yard drive that saw them convert a couple of third-down situations and finally cash in when running back Darren Sproles scored on a 1-yard run to make it 7-0.

The Bills got that touchdown back on their next possession and it didn't take them nearly as long, as they hit two long passes – a 32-yarder to wide receiver Robert Woods on the first play of the drive and a 47-yarder to wide receiver Sammy Watkins on the final play of the drive as Watkins beat cornerback Byron Maxwell on a long sideline patter for the tying TD.

The Eagles regained the lead in the second quarter with a lightning bolt of their own after a strange sequence of events. First, Bills returner Marcus Thigpen muffed a punt and the Eagles recovered on their Bills 37. But consecutive holding penalties against Eagles' tackle Dennis Kelly had the Eagles looking at a first-and-30. After a 4-yard run, Bradford spotted rookie receiver Nelson Agholor open down the middle and hit him with a 63-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 lead with 10:38 left in the second period.

NOTES: Eagles RB Ryan Mathews returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with concussion symptoms. … The Bills were without two defensive starters – CB Stephon Gilmore (shoulder) and LB Nigel Bradham (ankle). They were replaced, respectively, by Leodis McKelvin and Kevin Reddick. … Eagles rookie WR Nelson Agholor, their first-round pick out of Southern Cal, scored the first TD of his NFL career in the second quarter, a 63-yarder.