The Eagles entered the third quarter leading the Oakland Raiders 28-13 and receiving the second-half kickoff. Cornerback Brandon Boykin caught the kick and found a crease, exploding through the hole on the return. He very nearly broke away but got his feet tangled up with running back Chris Polk, who was blocking, and fell to the ground. It did not end up mattering, since the offense would pick up right where it left off in the first half.
On the very first play from scrimmage, quarterback Nick Foles faked as if he was going to run, before turning to his left and dumping off a backwards pass – a lateral – to wide receiver Riley Cooper. Cooper turned upfield and motored down the sidelines for 18 yards, moving the ball from the Eagles 39 to the Raiders 42. Running back LeSean McCoy then broke off a 17-yard run down to the Raiders 25. After an incompletion to wide receiver DeSean Jackson and offsetting penalties on the next snap, Foles fired a swing pass to a wide open McCoy along the right sideline. With no one in front of him, McCoy scampered 25 yards untouched and snuck inside the pylon for a touchdown. Following kick Alex Henery's extra point, the Eagles led 35-13.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who accounted for 277 totals yards in the first half, could not get the Raiders offense going on their first drive of the half. The swarming Eagles defense got pressure up front, forcing a three-and-out and a punt.
The Eagles wasted little time striking again on offense. Two McCoy runs netted 11 yards. On the third play, Foles dropped back and pumped left before looking to his right, where a wide open Jackson had beaten cornerback Mike Jenkins – who held him and then fell down – and was streaking down the sidelines. Foles delivered a perfect strike and hit Jackson in stride. He strolled into the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown and a 42-13 Eagles lead.
The Eagles defense forced another Raiders punt after just six plays, but then the offense uncharacteristically went three-and-out. The Raiders would only manage four plays on the next drive before punting again. The Eagles offense went back to work and hit on a big play immediately. Foles launched a deep, 59-yard pass down the middle of the field, which Jackson caught with a defender draped all over him. Two plays later, Foles hit Cooper in the back of the end zone for his seventh touchdown pass of the game, tying both the Eagles and NFL record.
On the next Raiders drive, Pryor was intercepted by cornerback Bradley Fletcher on a tipped pass, but the Eagles would go three-and-out and punt the ball back to the Raiders.
At the end of the third quarter, the Eagles held a commanding 49-13 lead.
