National Football League

McCoy says winning important despite down stats

Published Nov. 13, 2014 6:41 p.m. ET

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) Eagles running back LeSean McCoy isn't sure why he's almost 600 yards off his rushing pace a year ago, when he led the league.

He predicted 2,000 yards before the season, and his 641 yards through nine games is nearly 600 yards behind the league leader, Dallas' DeMarco Murray.

''It's hard to compare from last year, everyone plays us differently,'' McCoy said after Thursday's practice. ''Everybody does something different against us from what they have shown. But we're winning, that's the important thing.''

McCoy set an Eagles record last year with 1,607 rushing yards. His yards per carry average has dropped this season to 3.7 from 5.1.

Still, the Eagles are 7-2 and in first place in the NFC East.

''I think LeSean has played well,'' Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said Thursday. ''He's a workhorse. He's played every game. He actually has more carries through nine games this year than he had last year through nine games.''

Kelly said McCoy can be outstanding in games where the team gets him going.

McCoy has gone over 100 yards rushing in a game just twice this season, a 149-yard effort in a 27-0 win over the Giants and a 117-yard effort in a 31-21 win over Houston.

Three times this season he has been held to less than two yards per carry in a game.

This week, McCoy and the Eagles face a Green Bay Packers defense ranked 30th in the league against the run. He had more than 150 yards rushing against the Packers during a game last year.

''That was last year,'' McCoy said. ''That doesn't even matter. None of that matters. The last team we played last week had a terrible run defense too and I gained 19 yards.''

Carolina's run defense moved up to 23rd in the league from 26th after holding McCoy and the Eagles down.

''There were times they had one extra (player) up in there,'' Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. ''Again. we're going to be patient and try to run the football. Then there were tmes when we had some creases, where all of a sudden Luke Kuechly) showed up.''

Kelly, who watched his team lead the league in rushing a year ago, blames the execution.

''We didn't stay on blocks the way we can stay on blocks and we didn't run the way we need to run,'' Kelly said of the Carolina game. ''Sometimes we had it blocked up right and we didn't hit (the hole). There were other times where there was nowhere for the back to go.''