Philadelphia Eagles kick late field goal to upend Buffalo Bills 23-20

Buffalo running back and Harrisburg native LeSean McCoy had 74 yards rushing and 35 receiving in his return to Philadelphia.

The Eagles improved to 6-7 with their second straight win and with three games left, including two at home, they are tied for first place in the sorry NFC East. With season ending wins over the Redskins and Giants, the Eagles will win the division and make the playoffs.

Buffalo Bills’ Sammy Watkins scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, in Philadelphia. He’s also been a threat through the air, catching 27 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns.

McCoy certainly left himself open to the criticism, as he spent the week leading up to the game speaking to anyone who would listen about his upcoming match with the Eagles.

Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox threw McCoy down for a 10-yard loss in the second half and shoved him hard when he was down.

The Bills answered the field goal with a 41-yarder of their own then tied it up on a 19-yard Mike Gillislee touchdown run.

“I’ve got nothing to say, excuse me” a frustrated McCoy told the assembled media members before heading out of the locker room.

McCoy stoked the flames surrounding his trade, claiming that race played a factor in coach Chip Kelly deciding to move him on.

McCoy was booed loudly during pregame introductions, but was heckled only mildly during the game. Many wore No. 25 jerseys in Bills and Eagles colors. Just the fans, they’ve been so good to me for so long.

McCoy, who was traded to the Buffalo Bills in the off-season, had 63 rushing yards and was averaging 5.3 yards per carry and was seemingly on his way to his fourth 100-yard game of the season. “We’ve got a chance to do some special things here”. Bradford threw for 247 yards and a 53 yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor for the first touchdown of his career.

Eagles punter Donnie Jones kept the Bills pinned inside their 20-yard line three times in the fourth quarter and twice inside the 10-yard line.

Another thing the Eagles’ defense did was get the Buffalo offensive line to lose their composure and commit several holding penalties deep in their own end. His one interception happened when Leodis McKelvin simply took a ball out of Brent Celek’s hands.

There wasn’t much humor in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago, but two wins in a row make for more smiles. They won the turnover differential and were penalized far less than the Bills, who were charged with 15 penalties for 101 yards.

“I like the fact we are going to Philly because you can get a good cheesesteak”, Rex Ryan said.

“We’ve got ourselves to blame”, Ryan said afterward at Lincoln Financial Field. “One game at a time, but it’s like the playoffs for us”. The Eagles also got a one yard scamper from Darren Sproles to seal a nine play 61-yard drive.

PHILADELPHIA Chip Kelly’s abject failure to manage running backs has turned the Eagles’ Sunday showdown with the Buffalo Bills into a melodrama (1 p.m., Channel 3, WIP 94.1-FM, WBCB 1490-AM).

A promising first quarter start was squandered by the Eagles.