If Brent Celek were a split-second faster or a hair taller, perhaps LeSean McCoy wouldn't have had the opportunity to break the franchise touchdown record with a 1-yard rush on the team's opening drive of the third quarter. Then again, maybe that short touchdown provided McCoy with the inspiration to add another touchdown to his day when he scampered 33 yards early in the fourth quarter and left no question as to the historic nature of his 2011 season.
On the day, McCoy ran for three touchdowns (tying a career high) and brought his season tally to 17 rushing touchdowns and 20 touchdowns overall, shattering Steve Van Buren's franchise record which stood for 66 years. Following the game, McCoy reflected on the achievement and, in his typical fashion, made sure to spread the credit around.
"It means a lot to break the record, knowing it's been so long since it was originally set," said McCoy. "This is a team record, though. The offensive line deserves as much credit as I do."
"I guess it just tells me that I'm a pretty good back and that I have an outstanding offensive line. Everyone gives a lot of effort out there. The tight ends and wide receivers do a great job blocking for me. It's really a team effort on offense."
McCoy's first touchdown of the day came in the second quarter on a 9-yard run up the middle; a well-called draw that gave the team a 28-0 lead. Then, in the third quarter, McCoy was afforded to opportunity for the record-breaker after Celek's 73-yard catch and run which landed him just shy of the goal-line on the 1-yard-line. Two plays later, McCoy rose atop the franchise's record books.
"He's so slow, so I knew he wasn't going to score," McCoy joked about Celek's set-up. "I knew I was a touchdown or so away from it, but it's tough to really pay attention to those things, so you're not really worried about the individual stuff. The other guys knew more than I did about it."
As for those offensive linemen who have led the way this season, the consensus emotion in the locker room following the game was pride.
"It's been great blocking for Shady this season," said Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters. "He's a phenomenal back. He's slippery. Any defense we face, they'll tell you about him. You better wrap him up when you can, because he'll make cuts and beat you with his speed. He's hard to bring down."
"He's really done a better job this year of trusting our line," said Todd Herremans, when asked in what area McCoy has improved the most this season. "There's a good trust between us and the backs - not always - but the majority of the time, we're trusting each other and Shady's hitting the right spot and doing his thing.
"I'm proud of him. Sometimes I'm not so proud, because he does so much of it on his own sometimes. He finds a way to score, whether he takes the hole we make or he improvises and makes a play himself."
The banner example of the latter came Sunday on McCoy's third touchdown of the day. With the team already leading 38-13, McCoy took a handoff and began to run left. Caught up in traffic without a hole to exploit, McCoy reversed field, scampered around the edge and raced down the right sideline into the end zone (thanks in part to an impressive down-field blocking job by wide receiver Jeremy Maclin).
Herremans summed that play up best: "Man, I felt so useless on that play," he said, "It's the magic that Shady can do."
In the second season after Brian Westbrook parted ways with the Eagles, there's no doubt that the team once again employs one of the best running backs in the league. McCoy currently ranks second in the league in rushing, his 1,274 yards trail Maurice Jones-Drew's 1,334, and first in touchdowns. McCoy mentioned after the game that he re-watched tape of Westbrook's screen passes as an Eagle this week in order to take his ability in that area to the next level.
As McCoy continues to propel himself into elite territory, his 20 total touchdowns are still 11 behind the league record of 31. That distinction belongs to future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, who just so happened to be watching McCoy from the sidelines Sunday and offered the Eagles running back some advice following the game.
"I actually know (Tomlinson) from a while ago, I kind of looked up to LT, who didn't as a (running) back," McCoy said. "He just told me, 'At the end of the season,' he said I'm doing all the right things now, he said I look good, but there are always a few things in your game you can improve on ... He said after the season, take a couple days, a couple weeks off, then get all your runs and look at the stuff that you could do better at. Then look at all your passing routes, you always want to work on your game.
"You can never be too good; you can never be too great. There are always ways that you can improve and I just want to keep getting better."
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