The Philadelphia Eagles scored four fourth quarter touchdowns, rallying in a snowstorm to beat the Detroit Lions 34-20 as wintry weather wreaked havoc on several NFL games on Sunday.
LeSean McCoy rushed the ball 29 times for a franchise-record 217 yards and scored two of the Eagles’ fourth-quarter touchdowns in snowy conditions at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
McCoy broke Steve Van Buren’s record of 205 yards set in 1949.
“Records are made to be broken and it was standing for so long,” McCoy said. “This is the craziest game I’ve played in. The best one too.”
Snow began falling hours before kickoff and continued throughout the game.
With the blizzard-like conditions hampering NFL offences Sunday, a number of teams turned to their running games and the Eagles were no exception.
Philadelphia trailed 14-6 at the end of the third but they turned it around with the help of McCoy, who scored from 40 and 57 yards.
Quarterback Nick Foles capped a seven-play, 71-yard march with a one-yard touchdown run, and Chris Polk rushed another for 38 yards to cap the Philadelphia rally.
Foles finished 11-of-22 passing for 179 yards and a touchdown. DeSean Jackson added four catches for 59 yards and a score for the Eagles, who have won five straight games.
“When we faced adversity at halftime, nobody wavered,” Foles said. “We knew we were going to come out and make plays.”
Philadelphia hold a half-game lead over Dallas atop the NFC East and can take sole possession of the division if the Cowboys lose in Chicago on Monday.
Detroit have lost three of their last four games.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with the weather,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “It was more that we didn’t play well. We didn’t play well enough in the second half to get the win.”
Tom Brady also threw two touchdowns passes inside the two- minute warning and the first place New England Patriots rallied for a 27-26 win over the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium outside Boston.
New England, who improved to 10-3, orchestrated their third straight comeback win but they had to do it without Rob Gronkowski.
The star tight end was carted off the field in the third quarter after suffering what is believed to be a torn ACL.
Gronkowski caught a pass from Brady before his right knee absorbed a hit by defensive back TJ Ward. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday to assess the damage.
“It hurts to see any of those guys go down,” Brady said. “Certainly with Gronk, and we’ve sustained some pretty big injuries this year with really important, critical players, so we’ve got to just keep bouncing back.”
OTHER SUNDAY RESULTS
49ers 19, Seahawks 17
Frank Gore burst through the Seattle Seahawks’ line for a 51-yard run to set up a game-winning field goal by Phil Dawson in the San Francisco 49ers’ victory over their visiting NFC West rivals.
Dawson’s game-winning, 22-yard kick with 26 seconds remaining was his fourth field goal of the game and improved the 49ers to 9-4 while preventing the Seahawks (11-2) from the division title.
San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick completed 15 of 29 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown with one interception, while Seattle signal caller Russell Wilson hit on 15 of 25 passes for 199 yards and one TD with one interception.
Broncos 51, Titans 28
Matt Prater set an NFL record with a 64-yard field goal and quarterback Peyton Manning led Denver on a second-half charge as the Broncos rallied past the Tennessee Titans in frigid weather to clinch a play-off berth.
The victory in coach John Fox’s return to the sideline kept the Broncos (11-2) undefeated at home this season. Fox had missed the past month after undergoing heart surgery.
Manning completed 39 of 59 passes for 397 yards and four touchdown passes to overcome a 21-20 halftime deficit.
Ravens 29, Vikings 26
The Baltimore Ravens (7-6) maintained their hold on an AFC wild card berth in a frantic finish in the snow when quarterback Joe Flacco found receiver Marlon Brown for a nine-yard touchdown with four seconds left to beat the visiting Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota had taken the lead at 19-15 on a 41-yard run by Toby Gerhart with 1:27 left in the game. Baltimore’s Jacoby Jones ran back the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a go-ahead score.
Vikings (3-9) quarterback Matt Cassel threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson with 45 seconds left before Baltimore responded with the fifth touchdown over the final 2:05 of the game.
Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, the NFL’s leading rusher, had to be helped off the field early in the second quarter after a hard tackle with an apparent ankle injury.
Dolphins 34, Steelers 28
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill did not let snowy weather slow him down as he threw three touchdown passes to keep Miami in the thick of the AFC wild card play-off race with a victory on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Miami (7-6) snapped a five-game losing streak against Pittsburgh (5-8), who faded from the play-off picture despite a desperation effort to score on a five-lateral final play that ended on the 13-yard line.
Bengals 42, Colts 28
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as the Bengals beat the Indianapolis Colts in a battle of AFC division leaders in Cincinnati.
Dalton completed 24-of-35 passes for 275 yards for the AFC North leading-Bengals, who improved to 9-4 and moved into the third-seed position in the AFC play-offs pecking order.
AFC South-leading Indianapolis (8-5) and quarterback Andrew Luck, who threw four touchdown passes, fell behind 21-0 in the third quarter.
Chiefs 45, Redskins 10
The Kansas City Chiefs broke their three-game losing streak with a snowy victory against the Washington Redskins.
Kansas City raced to a 31-point lead barely 20 minutes into the game and were never threatened.
The Chiefs improved to 10-3 to further their hold on an AFC wild card berth, while the Redskins plunged to 3-10.
Cardinals 30, Rams 10
The Arizona Cardinals (8-5) stayed in the hunt for an NFC wild-card berth by battering the St Louis Rams behind quarterback Carson Palmer, who had been listed as questionable with a sore right passing elbow.
Palmer completed 27-of-32 passes for 265 yards and a touchdown.
It was the fifth win in the past six games for the Cardinals.
Packers 22, Falcons 21
The Green Bay Packers, who were 0-4-1 since quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone, finally notched a victory without their regular signal caller to stay alive in the NFC North.
Green Bay (6-6-1) rallied from a 21-10 halftime deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons at home when quarterback Matt Flynn hit Andrew Quarless with a two-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against Atlanta (3-10).
Chargers 37, Giants 14
The San Diego Chargers kept their faint play-off hopes alive with a 37-14 thumping of the New York Giants.
San Diego won for just the second time in their last six games and are tied with the New York Jets at 6-7, one game behind Baltimore and Miami for the second AFC wild-card spot.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen caught two touchdown passes from Philip Rivers.
Buccaneers 27, Bills 6
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sacked Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel seven times and intercepted him four times in a home victory.
Bucs rookie quarterback Mike Glennon also had a rough game, going 9-for-25 for a career-low 90 yards, but he threw a pair of touchdown passes to lift Tampa Bay (4-9) to victory over the Bills (4-9).
Jets 37, Raiders 27
Rookie quarterback Geno Smith bounced back from the first benching of his young career by accounting for 269 yards and two touchdowns as the New York Jets snapped a three-game losing streak with their home victory.
Smith, benched at halftime last week, completed 16-of-25 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown and rushed five times for 50 yards and another score.
