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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

McCoy plows through Lions

Rob Maaddi Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA – Once LeSean McCoy put his head down and ran straight ahead instead of juking and jiving, no one could stop him.

McCoy ran for a franchise-best 217 yards, including touchdowns of 57 and 40 yards, and the Philadelphia Eagles overcame two TD returns by Jeremy Ross to beat the Detroit Lions 34-20 in a blizzard Sunday.

Ross returned a punt 58 yards for a score and ran a kickoff 98 yards. But McCoy ran 57 yards up the middle for a tying TD, and Nick Foles connected with Riley Cooper on the 2-point conversion. Foles sneaked in from the 1 and Chris Polk had a 38-yard touchdown run to cap a 28-point fourth quarter for the Eagles (8-5).

Snow began falling two hours before kickoff and intensified after the game started. Workers used shovels and hand-held blowers to clear off yard lines. Conditions were so poor neither team tried a field goal, and there were 2-point conversion attempts after seven of the eight TDs.

The Eagles won their fifth straight game and took over sole possession of first place in the NFC East. Dallas can make it a tie for the top spot with a victory at Chicago tonight.

The Lions (7-6) have a half-game lead over the Bears in the NFC North.

Forecasters predicted only some snow, so neither team was prepared for a storm that dropped up to 6 inches in Philadelphia.

The Lions lost running back Reggie Bush when he fell on the slippery field during warmups and re-injured his calf. Matthew Stafford fumbled three snaps in the first quarter and had a costly turnover in the fourth. Joique Bell lost two fumbles inside the red zone in the first half.

McCoy ran for 148 yards in the fourth quarter, and broke Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren’s mark of 205 yards rushing against Pittsburgh on Nov. 27, 1949.

Eagles 34, Lions 20

Detroit 0 8 6 6 20
Philadelphia 0 0 6 28 34

Det—Bell 2 run (Bell pass from Stafford), 10:02.

Det—Ross 58 punt return (pass failed), 6:37.

Phi—Jackson 19 pass from Foles (pass failed), 4:05.

Phi—McCoy 40 run (Brown run), 14:34.

Det—Ross 98 kickoff return (kick blocked), 14:20.

Phi—McCoy 57 run (Cooper pass from Foles), 13:13.

Phi—Foles 1 run (pass failed), 8:18.

Phi—Polk 38 run (run failed), 2:58.

A—69,144.

Det Phi
First downs 11 23
Total Net Yards 228 478
Rushes-yards 33-80 46-299
Passing 148 179
Punt Returns 2-71 2-(-7)
Kickoff Returns 6-202 2-41
Interceptions Ret. 1-30 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 10-25-0 11-22-1
Sacked-Yrds Lost 0-0 0-0
Punts 6-39.3 6-41.5
Fumbles-Lost 7-3 1-0
Penalties-Yards 9-48 1-5
Time of Poss. 28:33 31:27

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Detroit, Bell 23-69, Riddick 4-12, Stafford 6-(minus 1). Philadelphia, McCoy 29-217, Polk 4-50, Foles 6-23, Brown 6-19, Jackson 1-(minus 10).

PASSING—Detroit, Stafford 10-25-0-148. Philadelphia, Foles 11-22-1-179.

RECEIVING—Detroit, Bell 4-58, Johnson 3-49, Burleson 2-18, Pettigrew 1-23. Philadelphia, Jackson 4-59, Cooper 3-74, Celek 2-29, Smith 1-13, McCoy 1-4.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.