LeSean McCoy hurdles Lions' safety Louis Delmas on his 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of the Eagles' 34-20 win over the Lions. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
The snowy weather threatened to derail the Philadelphia Eagles four-game winning streak from the very beginning. It was clear when Nick Foles opened the second quarter with his first interception of the season that this was going to be no ordinary game.
Foles and the Eagles would adjust. After being handled in a one-dimensional game, the NFL's second-best rushing unit went to work, posting four rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help the Eagles secure a 34-20 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
From the beginning, it was evident the elements would play a role. Detroit fumbled four times in the opening quarter, losing two of them to the Eagles defense. The Eagles failed to get anything going offensively in the opening quarter, posting just three yards of offense in the game's first 15 minutes.
It appeared the most crucial play of the first half was the first mistake for Foles. The Eagles quarterback would fall one touchdown short of tying Peyton Manning's record by throwing his first interception of the season to Lions' cornerback Chris Houston. The 30-yard return set up a scoring drive for the Lions with Joique Bell running in from two yards out.
The Eagles would close the half driving inside the Lions 20 before failing to convert on fourth down. In the first half, the Eagles finished with 90 total yards of offense.
The second half opened similarly to the first for the Eagles. Their first two drives ended with punts. One was returned 58 yards for a touchdown by Jeremy Ross.
That was where the comeback trail began. It started with three big plays from Foles. He connected with DeSean Jackson for 12 yards, Riley Cooper for 44 yards, then went back to Jackson for a 19-yard touchdown.
After a key defensive stop, LeSean McCoy started his impressive afternoon. With just 51 rushing yards on the day entering the fourth quarter, McCoy reeled off a 40-yard touchdown run. A two-point conversion on a Bryce Brown run tied the game.
On the very next play, Ross returned the kickoff for a touchdown to give Detroit the lead again. Three plays later, McCoy rushed 57 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Another two-point conversion gave the Eagles their first lead of the day.
In the final 13:13 of the game, the defense took over, coming up with another fumble and making two more defensive stands. Foles and Chris Polk finished things off with two touchdown runs to cap the scoring. After going four straight games without a fourth-quarter score, the Eagles scored 28 points in the final 15 minutes.
McCoy rushed for 217 yards on 29 carries, setting a new single-game rushing record in Eagles franchise history, breaking a mark previously held by Steve Van Buren. Foles, who struggled early, still managed to finish completing 11-of-22 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown.
Again, the Eagles defense stood tall. Calvin Johnson was limited to just three catches for 49 yards. In the absence of Reggie Bush – who re-injured his calf during pre-game warmups - Bell was held to 69 yards on 23 carries. Matthew Stafford was just 10-for-25 for 148 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
The Lions lost three fumbles, two by Bell and one by Stafford. The Eagles only turnover was Foles' second-quarter interception.
Perhaps most importantly, the Eagles picked up another win, stretching the winning streak to five games and improving to 8-5 on the season. They hold first place in the NFC East for now, with Dallas facing the Chicago Bears tomorrow night.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Look for his Monday Review the morning after every Eagles game. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
