Fansided

McCoy first Eagles’ RB to win rushing title since 1949

By Matt Cowlishaw

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Dec 29, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) celebrates while he leaves the field after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT
Dec 29, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (25) celebrates while he leaves the field after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT /

It was a good night for the Philadelphia Eagles, to say the least.

It came down to the wire, but Chip Kelly, Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy and Co. pulled out a 24-22 victory over the Dallas Cowboys and with it an NFC East title and No. 3 seed in the playoffs.

McCoy was a virtual lock to win the rushing title coming into Sunday, but made it more-than-official with a 27-carry, 131-yard performance on Sunday Night Football.

According to ESPN’s Sportcenter Twitter account, McCoy became the first Eagles’ player to win a rushing title since Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren did it in 1949.

Van Buren finished his All Pro 1949 season atop the list in several rushing categories including rushing yards (1146), attempts (188), rushing TDs (11) and rushing yards-per-game (95.5).

McCoy had 7 games in which he rushed for more than 100 yards this season – including a 217-yard performance against the Detroit Lions three weeks ago – and finished the season with over 1,600 yards.  He scored nine rushing TDs and caught 51 passes for an additional 536 yards and a touchdown.

McCoy finished with 2,146 total yards from scrimmage and averaged 98.4 rushing yards per game, both NFL-leading statistics.

Philadelphia finished the 2013 season with a 10-6 record in Chip Kelly’s first year as head coach after coming over from the University of Oregon.  There was perhaps no bigger beneficiary in that transition than McCoy, whose aforementioned stats are all career-highs.

And yes, that is McCoy holding up a Rushing Title belt in the photo.