Detroit 20
Philadelphia 34
Sunday, December 8, 2013 01:00 PM
(ET)
Recap: Eagles 34, Lions 20
SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 8, 2013
Eagles 34, Lions 20: LeSean McCoy rushed for a franchise-record 217 yards and two touchdowns as Philadelphia outlasted visiting Detroit to win its fifth straight game despite constant blizzard conditions that made passing difficult and kicking virtually impossible.
With more than six inches of snow piled up on the field, McCoy carried 29 times and surpassed his previous best of 185 yards and the old franchise mark (Steve Van Buren's 205 yards in 1949) against a Lions defense that had allowed 40.5 rushing yards on average over its last six games. Nick Foles threw a touchdown and rushed for another, while Chris Polk had a late 38-yard TD run for the Eagles (8-5), who moved a half-game ahead of Dallas for first place in the NFC East.
Jeremy Ross became the first Lions player to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game since Walter Payton's brother, Eddie, did it in 1977. Joique Bell rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown but also lost two fumbles for Detroit (7-6), which fumbled seven times - losing three - and surrendered 28 fourth-quarter points to lose for the third time in four games.
The Lions took a 14-0 lead midway through the third quarter on Ross' 58-yard scramble - the Lions' first punt-return TD since 2004 - but the Eagles rallied to tie it on Foles' 19-yard TD strike to DeSean Jackson, a terrific 40-yard touchdown run by McCoy and a two-point conversion run by Bryce Brown, only to watch Ross take the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a score with 14:20 remaining in the game. At that point, Detroit attempted the game's first extra point, but David Akers' kick was blocked to keep the score at 20-14 before McCoy unleashed a 57-yard run just over a minute later, and Foles found Riley Cooper for the go-ahead two-point conversion.
Detroit then went three-and-out before McCoy's 26-yard run ignited a drive that Foles capped with a 1-yard TD plunge. A failed two-point conversion kept it at a one-possession game, but Matthew Stafford fumbled a snap on the ensuing possession and the Eagles jumped on the ball before Polk's burst up the middle sealed the win and trimmed the Lions' NFC North lead to a half-game over Chicago, which faces Dallas on Monday night.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lions RB Reggie Bush aggravated a calf injury in pregame warmups and did not play. ... Foles, who went 11-of-22 for 179 yards, was picked off early in the second quarter and finished one touchdown shy of matching Peyton Manning's all-time NFL record of 20 touchdowns to begin a season before throwing a pick. Stafford was 10-of-25 for 148 yards, while WR Calvin Johnson caught three passes for 49 yards. ... At one point, referee Ed Hochuli called to the grounds crew because "we can't see the goal line."
Dec 8, 2013
Eagles 34, Lions 20: LeSean McCoy rushed for a franchise-record 217 yards and two touchdowns as Philadelphia outlasted visiting Detroit to win its fifth straight game despite constant blizzard conditions that made passing difficult and kicking virtually impossible.
With more than six inches of snow piled up on the field, McCoy carried 29 times and surpassed his previous best of 185 yards and the old franchise mark (Steve Van Buren's 205 yards in 1949) against a Lions defense that had allowed 40.5 rushing yards on average over its last six games. Nick Foles threw a touchdown and rushed for another, while Chris Polk had a late 38-yard TD run for the Eagles (8-5), who moved a half-game ahead of Dallas for first place in the NFC East.
Jeremy Ross became the first Lions player to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game since Walter Payton's brother, Eddie, did it in 1977. Joique Bell rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown but also lost two fumbles for Detroit (7-6), which fumbled seven times - losing three - and surrendered 28 fourth-quarter points to lose for the third time in four games.
The Lions took a 14-0 lead midway through the third quarter on Ross' 58-yard scramble - the Lions' first punt-return TD since 2004 - but the Eagles rallied to tie it on Foles' 19-yard TD strike to DeSean Jackson, a terrific 40-yard touchdown run by McCoy and a two-point conversion run by Bryce Brown, only to watch Ross take the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a score with 14:20 remaining in the game. At that point, Detroit attempted the game's first extra point, but David Akers' kick was blocked to keep the score at 20-14 before McCoy unleashed a 57-yard run just over a minute later, and Foles found Riley Cooper for the go-ahead two-point conversion.
Detroit then went three-and-out before McCoy's 26-yard run ignited a drive that Foles capped with a 1-yard TD plunge. A failed two-point conversion kept it at a one-possession game, but Matthew Stafford fumbled a snap on the ensuing possession and the Eagles jumped on the ball before Polk's burst up the middle sealed the win and trimmed the Lions' NFC North lead to a half-game over Chicago, which faces Dallas on Monday night.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lions RB Reggie Bush aggravated a calf injury in pregame warmups and did not play. ... Foles, who went 11-of-22 for 179 yards, was picked off early in the second quarter and finished one touchdown shy of matching Peyton Manning's all-time NFL record of 20 touchdowns to begin a season before throwing a pick. Stafford was 10-of-25 for 148 yards, while WR Calvin Johnson caught three passes for 49 yards. ... At one point, referee Ed Hochuli called to the grounds crew because "we can't see the goal line."
