Getting to 6-7 to keep pace with the bloody Redskins is the icing on the cake…

What’s better is the Eagles cobbled together a really nice defensive game plan—pressure Tyrod Taylor from the right side of his line all afternoon… and putting 6 defensive backs on the field in obvious passing situations… well done, Mr. Bill Davis…

Sure there were a few hiccups in the plan… Ed Reynolds at safety coming in way late to help out Byron Maxwell on a Sammy Watkins TD reception was one of them…

But guess what? Ed Reynolds showed character and hung in there and showed up at the end to make a game-saving INT in the end…

Phil Sheridan, ESPN: “For all the talk about running backs LeSean McCoy and DeMarco Murray, they had little impact on the Philadelphia Eagles‘ game against the Buffalo Bills Sunday.  Quarterback play and defense were the difference as the Eagles beat the Bills, 23-20 to stay alive in the NFC East race.  The Eagles weren’t able to torment Tyrod Taylor as much as they did Tom Brady last week, but they kept the Bills quarterback in check. Meanwhile, Sam Bradford continued to do just enough to win a game. Bradford’s 53-yard touchdown pass to rookie Nelson Agholor gave the Eagles the lead in the second quarter. They never relinquished it.”

How you liking them apples?

I was glad the whole Shady McCoy thing kinda got shoved under the rug as the game progressed. A lot of that is to the credit of the Eagles linebackers who stayed so true to their lane assignments.

Set the edge!!!

Caleb Sturgis kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:26 left, Ed Reynolds intercepted Tyrod Taylor‘s pass in the final minutes and the Philadelphia Eagles beat theBuffalo Bills 23-20 on Sunday.

McCoy had 74 yards rushing and 35 receiving in his return to Philadelphia. The two-time All-Pro kissed the Eagles logo at midfield before the coin toss and hugged owner Jeffrey Lurie.

He was the first player off the field after the game, sprinting toward the locker room immediately when the clock expired and slammed his helmet into the wall.

“I got nothing to say,” he told a crowd of reporters around his locker.

The Eagles (6-7) and Redskins (6-7) are tied atop the NFC East. The New York Giants (5-7) could make it a three-way tie with a win at Miami on Monday night.

The Bills (6-7) fell two games behind in the AFC wild-card race.

Taylor’s streak of 222 passes without a pick ended when his deep pass went right to Reynolds with 1:16 remaining.

Bradford threw for 247 yards, including a 53-yard TD to Nelson Agholor. The Eagles are 6-2 in the past eight games Bradford has started and finished.

“I feel more comfortable, more confident in what we’re doing,” Bradford said.

The Bills rallied from a 20-10 deficit in the third quarter.

One play after Taylor ran 14 yards on third-and-13, Mike Gillislee had a 19-yard TD run to tie it at 20-20. Buffalo started that drive at the Eagles 46 after an unsportsmanlike penalty on Philadelphia’s Riley Cooper on a punt.

The Eagles had a first down at the Bills 24 on the next series before Bradford threw his first interception since Oct. 25. Leodis McKelvin leaped and snatched the ball away from Brent Celek at the 5.

But Bradford tossed a 41-yard pass to Zach Ertz on third-and-3 to set up Philadelphia’s go-ahead field goal.

“Sam played outstanding,” Kelly said.

The Bills had two chances in the final minutes, but couldn’t do much. They were hurt by 15 penalties.

“I thought we were the better team, but obviously we got beat,” Bills coach Rex Ryan said. “We have ourselves to blame.”

After Darren Sproles ran in from the 1 for a 7-0 lead on Philadelphia’s first drive, the Eagles went three-and-out three straight series.

The Bills tied it at 7 when Taylor connected with Sammy Watkins on a 47-yard TD down the right side.

One week after two touchdowns on special teams helped the Eagles upset New England, another big play on a punt got Philadelphia going. Bryan Bramanrecovered Marcus Thigpen‘s fumble at the Buffalo 37. Following consecutive holding penalties, the Eagles faced second-and-26 when Bradford hit Agholor over the middle for the rookie first-round pick’s first TD catch and a 14-7 lead.

Sturgis made a 45-yard field goal for a 17-10 lead at halftime. He extended the lead to 20-10 on a 41-yarder on the first possession in the third quarter.

Bills were missing rookie RB Karlos Williams and three starters: CB Stephon Gilmore, LB Nigel Bradham, OL Seantrel Henderson. TE Charles Clay left in the first half with a back injury. … Watkins is first Bills receiver with 40-yard catches in three straight games since Terrell Owens in 2009. … Eagles EB DeMarco Murray had 11 carries for 34 yards.

Next up— Arizona Cardinals…. eeeeek!  Hold the phone!

Final:

	1	2	3	4	T
BUF	7	3	10	0	20
PHI	7	10	3	3	23

Scoring Summary

 

FIRST QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	TD 9:53 Darren Sproles 1 Yd Run (Caleb Sturgis Kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, 1:36	0	7
	TD 8:17 Sammy Watkins 47 Yd pass from Tyrod Taylor (Dan Carpenter Kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, 1:36	7	7
SECOND QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	TD 10:38 Nelson Agholor 53 Yd pass from Sam Bradford (Caleb Sturgis Kick) 2 plays, 37 yards, 0:58	7	14
	FG 6:20 Dan Carpenter 38 Yd Field Goal 9 plays, 60 yards, 4:18	10	14
	FG 0:05 Caleb Sturgis 45 Yd Field Goal 11 plays, 53 yards, 1:23	10	17
THIRD QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	FG 9:42 Caleb Sturgis 41 Yd Field Goal 14 plays, 57 yards, 5:18	10	20
	FG 5:14 Dan Carpenter 40 Yd Field Goal 8 plays, 58 yards, 4:28	13	20
	TD 0:46 Mike Gillislee 19 Yd Run (Dan Carpenter Kick) 6 plays, 44 yards, 3:18	20	20
FOURTH QUARTER		BUF	PHI
	FG 3:26 Caleb Sturgis 30 Yd Field Goal 7 plays, 54 yards, 1:59	20	23

Matchup
1st Downs	18	20
Passing 1st downs	11	11
Rushing 1st downs	7	8
1st downs from penalties	0	1
3rd down efficiency	6-16	9-18
4th down efficiency	0-0	0-0
Total Plays	69	73
Total Yards	412	348
Total Drives	13	14
Yards per Play	6.0	4.8
Passing	260	232
Comp-Att	19-36	23-38
Yards per pass	7.0	5.9
Interceptions thrown	1	1
Sacks-Yards Lost	1-8	1-15
Rushing	152	116
Rushing Attempts	32	34
Yards per rush	4.8	3.4
Red Zone (Made-Att)	1-2	1-2
Penalties	15-101	5-55
Turnovers	2	1
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	1	1
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	35:02	24:58

Philadelphia Passing

	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	RTG
Sam Bradford	23/38	247	6.5	1	1	1-15	77.4
TEAM	23/38	232	6.5	1	1	1-15	77.4

Buffalo Passing

	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	RTG
Tyrod Taylor	19/36	268	7.4	1	1	1-8	74.8
TEAM	19/36	260	7.4	1	1	1-8	74.8

Philadelphia Rushing

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Darren Sproles	7	41	5.9	1	15
Ryan Mathews	13	38	2.9	0	9
DeMarco Murray	11	34	3.1	0	7
Sam Bradford	3	3	1.0	0	5
TEAM	34	116	3.4	1	15

Buffalo Rushing

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
LeSean McCoy	20	74	3.7	0	24
Tyrod Taylor	8	53	6.6	0	14
Mike Gillislee	3	24	8.0	1	19
Sammy Watkins	1	1	1.0	0	1
TEAM	32	152	4.8	1	24

Philadelphia Receiving

	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Zach Ertz	5	98	19.6	0	41	7
Nelson Agholor	3	62	20.7	1	53	6
Josh Huff	2	28	14.0	0	18	3
Riley Cooper	3	28	9.3	0	11	6
Jordan Matthews	3	19	6.3	0	8	5
Darren Sproles	2	4	2.0	0	3	3
Ryan Mathews	2	4	2.0	0	3	2
DeMarco Murray	2	3	1.5	0	4	2
Brent Celek	1	1	1.0	0	1	2
Seyi Ajirotutu	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
TEAM	23	247	10.7	1	53	37

Buffalo Receiving

	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Robert Woods	5	106	21.2	0	37	7
Sammy Watkins	5	81	16.2	1	47	12
LeSean McCoy	4	35	8.8	0	10	7
Chris Hogan	2	20	10.0	0	14	5
Chris Gragg	1	11	11.0	0	11	2
Charles Clay	1	9	9.0	0	9	2
Mike Gillislee	1	6	6.0	0	6	1
TEAM	19	268	14.1	1	47	36

Philadelphia Interceptions

	INT	YDS	TD
Ed Reynolds	1	7	0
TEAM	1	7	0

Buffalo Interceptions

	INT	YDS	TD
Leodis McKelvin	1	0	0
TEAM	1	0	0

Philadelphia Punt Returns

	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Darren Sproles	4	47	11.8	28	0
TEAM	4	47	11.8	28	0

Philadelphia Kicking

	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Caleb Sturgis	3/3	100.0	45	2/2	11
TEAM	3/3	100.0	45	2/2	11

Philadelphia Punting

	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	IN 20	LONG
Donnie Jones	7	353	50.4	0	1	63
TEAM	7	353	50.4	0	1	63

Philadelphia Defensive

	TACKLES				MISC
	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HTS	TD
Fletcher Cox	8	7	1	2	0	1	0
Mychal Kendricks	8	7	0	1	0	0	0
Malcolm Jenkins	8	6	0	0	0	0	0
Kiko Alonso	5	2	0	0	0	0	0
Connor Barwin	4	4	0	0	2	1	0
Eric Rowe	4	4	0	0	1	0	0
DeMeco Ryans	4	3	0	0	0	0	0
Walter Thurmond III	3	3	0	0	0	0	0
Brandon Graham	3	1	0	0	1	1	0
Byron Maxwell	2	2	0	0	1	0	0
Bryan Braman	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Bennie Logan	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Jon Dorenbos	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Brent Celek	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
E.J. Biggers	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Riley Cooper	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Beau Allen	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jaylen Watkins	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ed Reynolds	1	1	0	0	1	0	0
Vinny Curry	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
TEAM	60	50	1	3	6	4	0

Buffalo Defensive

	TACKLES				MISC
	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HTS	TD
Corey Graham	9	8	0	0	0	0	0
Bacarri Rambo	7	7	0	1	1	1	0
Leodis McKelvin	5	4	0	0	2	0	0
Marcell Dareus	5	3	0	0	0	0	0
Preston Brown	5	3	0	0	0	1	0
Manny Lawson	4	4	0	2	0	0	0
Stefan Charles	4	4	0	0	0	0	0
Ronald Darby	4	4	0	0	2	0	0
Jerry Hughes	3	3	0	0	0	1	0
Duke Williams	3	3	0	0	0	1	0
Mario Williams	2	2	1	1	0	1	0
Marcus Easley	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Nickell Robey	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Corbin Bryant	2	1	0	0	0	2	0
IK Enemkpali	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Garrison Sanborn	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Boobie Dixon	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jonathan Meeks	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jordan Gay	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Colton Schmidt	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM	64	56	1	4	5	7	0

Tight game all down the line… I lost a few fingernail tips in this one… Shady goes back to Buffalo all boo-hoo… I don’t care about that…