With Westbrook apparently out for more than just a game, and the Eagles riding a two game losing streak into their showdown with the Bears at Soldier field, a lot was resting on the back, or rather legs of rookie running back LeSean McCoy.

The rookie came through with flying colors, just missing his first 100 yard rushing game with a 20 rush 99 yard effort Sunday night.  He also scored his third touchdown of the season on the go ahead score in the fourth quarter that put the game away for the Eagles as they fought for a 24-20 victory.

So far this year, McCoy has three games where he rushed for 80 or more yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles have gone 3-0 in those games.   Westbrooks heir apparent was selected in this years draft with the thinking that he could develop for a year or two behind the All Pro running back and eventually take over the starting job when Westbrook retired.   We all hope to see Westbrook return, but it is becoming evident that the veteran’s playing days are numbered and McCoy has shown promise especially given his rookie status.

The addition of Weaver to the running corps gives the Eagles an extremely potent 1-2 punch even if Westbrook does not contribute much more to the team given his health concerns and age.

In fact, team management has done a good job of upgrading the entire roster with a stable of young players that will be the Eagles strength for years to come.  McCoy, Weaver, Jackson, and Maclin are all currently under 22 years of age.  The QB role will be filled by Kolb who just turned 25.  Macho Harris is devloping into a strong young cornerback at age 24.

This year may be presenting some real challenges for the team, and a slew of unexpected injuries to key personnel have made it difficult to form any kind of cohesiveness on offense, defense, or special teams.   But what is becoming evident is that, once McNabb, Westbrook and other key elements of this team retire or can no longer produce, the Eagles will continue to fly high and be competitive.

Last night’s win also keeps them in the hunt for the NFC East title, as they kept pace with and stayed a game behind the Cowboys and even with the NY Giants.  After securing 4 NFC East titles in the previous 8 years, and after back to back years of 8-8 and 9-6-1, it is time for the Eagles to return to the 10+ win seasons we have gotten used to since Andy Reid has been at the helm.  I stated before the season started the Eagles should be 10-6 this year, and they can still hit that mark if they do not lose any more games they are not supposed to lose.

Their remaining schedule is not easy, with games at New York and Dallas, and games against Denver and San Francisco at home but their next two games should be wins, hosting the Redskins and visiting Atlanta, so if the Eagles take care of business they should be 8-4 and hopefully tied for the NFC east lead going into the night game in NY which is shaping up to be probably the most important game of their season.   With McCoy in the backfield, I give them better than even odds of continuing to get the job done.