On Wednesday, the NFL revealed that Eagles running back LeSean McCoy had received more fan votes for the Pro Bowl than any other running back in the league (and the sixth-most votes of any player). On Thursday, McCoy credited the Eagles faithful and his offensive linemen for making him the most recognized running back in the league.
"I guess it just shows that the fans in Philly show their support and the guys around me helped me out to receive that," McCoy said. "I'm happy that the fans voted for me, it means a lot."
McCoy currently ranks second in the league in rushing yards, 60 yards behind Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though McCoy is focused primarily on wins, he acknowledged that finishing the season atop that list would be a true honor.
"It would mean a lot to me," he said. "As a player coming into this league, I never imagined I would be up for a rushing title or things like that. And also, it would be a good honor just to show my linemen how much I appreciate them for blocking so much for me this year."
McCoy noted that he'll wait until the end of the season to provide his offensive linemen with gifts to thank them for their efforts.
As for the action on the field, McCoy and the Eagles prepare for Saturday's showdown against the Dallas Cowboys that could have significant playoff implications. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said earlier this week that he and his team are "scared" of the Eagles, but McCoy and his teammates were quick to shoot down those comments as a motivational ploy - though McCoy did say Jones was correct in his assessment of the Eagles' team speed.
"Oh, we're fast now," McCoy said. "I think (Jones) was just talking, but then again we are fast. I think we're a tough team to kind of scout. As the week goes on, you're trying to figure out how to stop us. There are so many things, like small little screens could go to the house depending on who's the player. Even our quarterback is fast … It's a lot to kind of gear up for."
Last week against the Jets, McCoy set the Eagles' franchise record for total touchdowns (20) and rushing touchdowns (17) in a season. This week, that distraction is gone, as the third-year running back prepares for what he knows will be a stern test in the seventh-ranked Cowboys run defense.
"They're a good defense, they're fast, they're athletic, they're quick," said McCoy. "So it'll be a good game. I think if we just go in there and play our game, we'll be fine. It depends on what type of team shows up. Sometimes we show up as the turnover team … and there's other times we're the team that shows up to play. Executing, hitting the right guys, running the right holes, holding onto the ball, all those things."
That latter team McCoy is referring to was present last week against the New York Jets, as well as against the Cowboys in Week 8, when McCoy ran for a season-high 185 yards on 30 carries. McCoy said he can't explain why the Eagles haven't been able to play that kind of game consistently, but he expects the well-oiled Eagles machine to show up in Dallas for Christmas Eve.
"I just think we're finally clicking," he said. "We're playing hard. We're finally doing the small things right, not turning the ball over, getting down into the red zone and scoring, all the little things we weren't doing earlier in the year. Around this time, I just think we're clicking. And we're healthy, that's another big thing. Some games, we played a few games with backups and I think now that we have all our star players back, we're firing off."
