Week 13 Preview: Eagles offense must go through LeSean McCoy

On Thanksgiving Day, the Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, also known as Jerry World, to claim first place in the NFC East.

This game holds a lot of significance as both teams have an overall record of 8-3. The Eagles are 2-0 in the division, while the Cowboys are 1-1. The Cowboys’ only divisional loss came to Washington in week 8 on Monday night football 20-17 in overtime.

For the Eagles to win tomorrow afternoon, they must be able to run the ball. If they run the ball with LeSean McCoy, the offense will be that much better and efficient. In his last eight games against the Cowboys, McCoy is averages 16.8 carries for 86.9 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.

Last season against Dallas in week seven, McCoy only had 55 rushing yards on 18 carries. That was also the game that quarterback Nick Foles went out with an injury, and Matt Barkley had to step in and play.

McCoy rebounded from his week seven performance in a huge way in the last game of season with the division on the line in Jerry World. He had 27 carries for 131 yards and a receiving touchdown as the Eagles went on to win 24-22.

Over his career against the Cowboys, when McCoy rushes for 100 yards or more, the Eagles are 4-4. The only time McCoy rushed for less than 100 yards against Dallas happened in week 16 of the 2011 season when he had 35 yards on 13 carries.

It is obvious that the Eagles must use McCoy. So far this season, the Cowboys defense gave up 107.2 rushing yards per game. On the other hand, McCoy’s has seen success in last two games. In the week 11 loss against the Packers, he rushed for 88 yards on 23 carries.

Then in last Sunday’s game against the Titans, Shady broke out for 130 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. If analysts or fans thought that Shady had lost a step, he proved against Tennessee that he still got it.

Tomorrow’s game presents an unique opportunity for the Eagles as they can take control of the division with Seattle looming next week. But again, for the Eagles to win, Chip Kelly must make it an emphasis to put the ball in McCoy’s hands. If he gets 20 plus touches combined with Darren Sproles’s 10 plus touches, Mark Sanchez’s job will be that much easier.