ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) LeSean McCoy threw open his arms just before crossing the goal line on a touchdown run that essentially put away another big win over the Dallas Cowboys.
While Philadelphia didn't walk off with a playoff berth in hand after beating the Cowboys 33-10 on Thursday, it was a sweet Thanksgiving for McCoy, Mark Sanchez and the Eagles.
McCoy ran for 159 yards and a touchdown, Sanchez had his first scoring run in almost three years and the Eagles rolled in a matchup of NFC East co-leaders on the field where McCoy clinched last season's rushing title and Philadelphia won a playoffs-or-bust finale.
''This really felt like last year,'' said McCoy, who had a season-high 25 carries. ''It really did.''
Tony Romo wasn't around for that game because he was two days removed from back surgery. This time he was trying to play a quick turnaround for the first time, and after yet another back injury. He looked ragged as the Cowboys (8-4) lost their third straight home game.
''It was definitely short just from the Sunday night coming to here,'' said Romo, who threw two interceptions without a touchdown, snapping a streak of 38 straight games with at least one TD toss. ''I don't really think that had much to do with the outcome of the game. I think they just played better than us.''
The Eagles (9-3) opened with quick drives of 80 and 88 yards for touchdowns. They took sole possession of the division lead with four games remaining, including a rematch in less than three weeks.
''We're not into statements,'' Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. ''We've given ourselves the opportunity to play meaningful football in December, and in this league, every week is a whole different deal, a whole different animal.''
McCoy, who led the NFL with 1,604 yards last season, had his fourth 100-yard game in the past seven after going without one the first five weeks and secured his fourth 1,000-yard season since 2010.
Although his deficit to Dallas' DeMarco Murray in the rushing race is probably insurmountable, McCoy outgained Murray, who was held under 100 yards for just the second time this season.
Murray finished with 73 yards and Dallas' only touchdown on 20 carries, the last a 6-yard loss when he was dropped by Mychal Kendricks on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter.
''I don't really compare myself,'' McCoy said. ''I just try to be me. I don't really get into that whole, especially during the season, `Who's this. Who's that' thing. In the big picture, we're trying to win games.''
Making his fourth start since Nick Foles was sidelined by a broken collarbone, Sanchez was 9 of 11 for 99 yards in the first quarter. That included a 27-yard scoring pass to Jordan Matthews when Sanchez hit the rookie in stride on a crossing route for a 14-0 lead.
Sanchez finished 20 of 29 for 217 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions two years after he was the starter for the New York Jets and infamously ran into the back side of one of his offensive linemen for a fumble that New England returned for a touchdown in a 49-19 Thanksgiving rout.
''It is like my favorite holiday, so that's not cool,'' Sanchez said. ''It was a bummer. The game plan was to try not to do that. And we accomplished that.''
This time, had his first scoring run since Dec. 24, 2011, with the Jets - a 2-yarder after faking the handoff to McCoy in the zone read. McCoy set up the game's first touchdown with a 38-yard run.
The Cowboys looked a little sluggish following a kickoff that came about 90 hours after their dramatic 31-28 victory at the New York Giants on Sunday night.
Murray had room to run at times but couldn't break one longer than 9 yards. Romo had plenty of time early in the game, but one time in the first half tossed a third-down pass to nobody in particular, giving the ball back to the Eagles when the Cowboys were having trouble stopping them.
''We didn't respond as well as we needed to when we were on offense,'' Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. ''We were never able to kind of keep ourselves in this game and certainly that's a disappointment.''
Romo looked skittish at times, essentially sitting down in the pocket with nobody in position to sack him on a third-down play after Jeremy Mincey recovered McCoy's fumble at the Philadelphia 13 on the second play of the second half.
The Cowboys had to settle for a field goal, and Philadelphia answered immediately on McCoy's 38-yard scoring run, putting the Eagles up 30-10 on their third touchdown drive of at least 80 yards.
NOTES: Jeremy Maclin secured his first career 1,000-yard season with 108 yards, including a 58-yarder to set up one of Cody Parkey's three second-quarter field goals. ... Dez Bryant set up Murray's 1-yard touchdown run with a 38-yard catch and had 73 yards on four receptions. ... Parkey had four field goals total, the longest from 31 yards.
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Redskins benching QB Robert Griffin III; Colt McCoy to start
NFL insider Adam Schefter is reporting that the Washington Redskins will start Colt McCoy at quarterback in their Week 13 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. In three games since returning from an ankle injury which had sidelined him since Week 2, Griffin has been less than effective. In those games, Griffin has averaged just 188 yards passing, thrown just two touchdowns and turned the ball over four times.McCoy has played in two games this season, two of the team's three wins. In the first, he took over for Kirk Cousins in Week 7 versus Tennessee and led the Redskins to a 19-17 come-from-behind victory. In Week 8, McCoy got the start and engineered a 20-17 overtime win at Dallas. He threw for 299 yards in the game, ran for a touchdown and did just enough to get the team in position to kick a game-winning field goal to pull off the upset.
At this point, about the only Redskin you can use and know what you'll get from him is RB Alfred Morris. This is a case of the head coach not believing in the guy the front office has dubbed their "franchise quarterback". The front office, largely made up of egos and personalities that likely have a hard time admitting they made a mistake with a first-round pick, has been unwilling to waver from their insistence that RGIII is "their guy". After last week's abysmal performance, they're finally starting to see the error of their ways.The whole, "Robert is still a part of our long-term, future plan" line is nothing more than them trying to maintain he has some value, in case they try to trade him.Regardless, from a fantasy perspective, McCoy isn't that good. Any Washington pass-catcher you may have, including WRs DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, as well as TEs Jordan Reed and Niles Paul, should be downgraded.
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