Thanksgiving Day: Eagles Studs And Duds
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Best Thanksgiving ever? Best Thanksgiving ever.
Dallas had one play: a 38-yard completion to Dez Bryant late in the first quarter, setting up a short DeMarco Murray touchdown run. And that was it. It was all Eagles after that, as the Birds routed the Boys 33-10 on a glorious Thanksgiving evening in Philadelphia.
Leftovers never tasted so good.
Duds
3. Darren Sproles
What? It wasn't easy finding duds, what do you want from me? Sproles didn't have a bad game by any means, but didn't make a that jaw-dropping play either. I kind of thought, or hoped, he would.
2. Zach Ertz
Paging Zach Ertz. Zach...Ertz. Where is this guy? The only, and I mean only, criticism you can have of the Eagles yesterday is their red zone deficiency. Four times the Eagles had to settle for chip-shot field goals. Wasn't Ertz supposed to be that big, athletic, dominant red zone weapon we yearned for? He hasn't become that guy, yet.
1. Riley Cooper
Coop caught just four of seven targets for 32 yards and got into a verbal dispute with Mark Sanchez in the second-half, resulting in an Eagles timeout. Speaking of red zone threats, while we hope Ertz can turn into that guy, we already know Cooper isn't that guy.
The one-on-one jump ball to Coop just doesn't work.
Studs
3. Fletcher Cox
The big boy is blossoming before our eyes! As Chip Kelly said post-game, Cox has been dominant all season long, just not in the stat sheet.
On Thursday, Cox stuff the Cowboys and the stat sheet, resulting in his best statistical game yet: four solo tackles, two tackles for a loss, one quarterback hit, and two sacks.
As a team, the Eagles held the NFL's No. 1 rusher in DeMarco Murray to just 73 yards on 20 carries, his lowest output yet and the first time he averaged less than four yards per carry. Cox was a major part of that.
2. Mark Sanchez
Sanchez was 20-29 for 217 yards and a touchdown, with no turnovers. Maybe more impressively, we saw the wheels! Sanchez ran for 29 yards and scored his first rushing touchdown since December 24th, 2011.
He looks calm, poised, and comfortable in the pocket and he is leading this team to win after win.
1. LeSean McCoy / Offensive Line
"It felt like last year," McCoy said after the game. And it sure did.
Shady racked up 159 yards and a score on 25 carries, behind a dominant Eagles front-line. The line is establishing continuity, McCoy is happy, and the Eagles are hitting their stride at the perfect time.
Buckle up Philadelphia, it's going to be a fun winter.
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