Running Back
Experience: Sixth Year
College: Pittsburgh
Acquired: Selected in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft
2013 Overview
"The last few years I've had good years, but I want to be dominant. I think in this offense, (we have) the ability to run the ball more, where I can really take over a game. There have been flashes of it in the past, but having the ability to do it day in and day out, game in and game out, I think that's a different story."
LeSean McCoy spoke those words upon arriving for Training Camp last July. They were nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it's fairly typical for professional athletes to set high expectations of what they might be able to accomplish at the beginning of a new season. Few, however, are able to deliver the way that McCoy did in 2013. McCoy elevated his play to a new level of excellence, shattering a number of franchise single-game and single-season marks, leading the Eagles to their first division title in three years.
McCoy started the season with a 184-yard performance against Washington and he never looked back. Seven times he eclipsed the 100-yard mark. Four times he ran for more than 150 yards. No one else in the NFL did that more than once. He set the Eagles' single-season rushing record and led the NFL with 1,607 yards, while also breaking the team yards from scrimmage record with 2,146. He was named first-team All-Pro and a Pro-Bowl selection, and he also took home the NFC Offensive Player of the Year honors from the NFL 101 Awards based in Kansas City.
Dominant? Yes, you could say that.
Though his play was consistently impressive throughout the entire season, McCoy stepped up in a huge way down the stretch. With the Eagles battling for a playoff berth as the calendar rolled into December, McCoy put the team on his back. In five December games, McCoy rushed for 598 yards and scored five total touchdowns, leading the Eagles to victories in four of those games. He became the first Eagles running back to be named NFC Offensive Player of the Month in December.
The Eagles' Week 14 matchup with the Detroit Lions was included in that five-game span. The forecast in Philadelphia called for a couple inches of snow. Instead, eight inches blanketed the city, with the hardest precipitation coming right at kickoff. The blizzard-like conditions limited the amount of passing plays, forcing both teams to rely on the run. As a result, McCoy carried the ball 29 times (his second-highest total of the season) and although it was sometimes difficult for fans to keep an eye on him due to low visibility, McCoy put on the greatest rushing performance in Eagles history. Darting his way through the heavy snow, McCoy racked up an Eagles-record 217 yards, breaking the previous mark of 205 yards set by Steve Van Buren in 1949. McCoy had 148 yards and scored on two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter alone. Afterwards, his jersey and cleats were shipped to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
McCoy now ranks fourth on the Eagles' all-time rushing list with 5,473 career rushing yards. Wilbert Montgomery holds the franchise record with 6,538 yards in 100 career games in an Eagles uniform. McCoy, who has played 74 games with the team, has averaged 1,095 yards per season over his five-year career, so if he can stay healthy he has a very legitimate chance at jumping up to the top of the Eagles' rushing list (1,065 to tie) in 2014. It will be difficult for McCoy to improve upon his spectacular numbers from 2013, but don't count him out. Entering his sixth NFL season, McCoy seems to be in the prime of his career and is now considered by most to be one of, if not the best running back in the NFL.
Top Play of the Year
McCoy's 2013 highlight reel is jam-packed with plays of him weaving and bobbing his way through opposing defenses and making defenders look flat out silly. His best play of the year, though, came during the Snow Bowl. The Eagles trailed 14-6 heading into the fourth quarter, but just a few seconds into the final quarter, Nick Foles handed off to McCoy, who slalomed his way through the Eagles' offensive line. After breaking through the first wave of defenders, McCoy hurdled safety Louis Delmas before breaking an ankle tackle. From there on, it was nothing but green grass, or in this case white snow, as McCoy raced down the left side of the field and into the end zone.
Later in the game, he added a 57-yard score, but it was his 40-yard dash through the snow that stands alone atop the list of his finest moments of 2013.
Key Stat
McCoy holds the all-time NFL record with seven fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 40-plus yards. Three of these runs came in 2013 - two in the Snow Bowl and a 41-yard touchdown run against Kansas City in Week 3.
Did You Know?
In the last three years, only two NFL running backs have recorded 150 receptions and 8 receiving touchdowns. One of those players is McCoy, and the other is his new teammate, Darren Sproles.
