By Peter Gleason
When an NFL team is playing for pride, it is nice to win, and the Eagles did that, beating the Giants 34-26 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday to finish 2014 10-6 and out of the playoffs.
But there are still plenty of reasons for the Birds to hold their heads up:
The Eagles broke a team record this season by scoring 474 points, shattering last year’s record of 442. The Eagles also set team records with 54 touchdowns, 390 completions, 4,581 gross passing yards, eight 300-yard passing games and 356 first downs, including a record 218 via pass.
QB Mark Sanchez threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns on 23 of 36 passing for a 96.1 passer rating. For the season, Sanchez went 198-309, setting an Eagles record with a completion percentage of 64.1.
WR Jeremy Maclin had three receptions for 49 yards, upping his season totals to 85 and 1,318 which rank third and fourth in Eagles history, respectively. With 4,771 career receiving yards, Maclin supplanted Ben Hawkins for eighth on the team’s all-time list.
WR Jordan Matthews (photo above) led the team with eight receptions and 105 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown, his eighth of the season. It was Matthews’ third 100-yard game of the season, making him just the fourth Eagles rookie ever with at least three 100-yard games and the first since Fred Barnett in 1990. Matthews finished the season ranked second all-time among Eagles rookies with 67 receptions (Keith Jackson, 81 in 1988), second with 872 yards (DeSean Jackson, 912 in 2008) and tied for second with eight touchdowns (Calvin Williams, nine in 1990).
RB LeSean McCoy rushed for 99 yards, and finished the season with 1,319 which ranks as the second-highest total of his career and the sixth-highest in franchise history. McCoy has accumulated 9,074 career scrimmage yards, moving him past Wilbert Montgomery (8,985) and Harold Carmichael (9,042) and into second on the Eagles all-time list. He trails only Brian Westbrook (9,785).
K Cody Parkey set an NFL rookie record and a Philadelphia Eagles record with 150 points this season. He surpassed Kevin Butler (144 points in 1985) for the rookie record and David Akers (144 in 2008) for the Eagles record. With 32 field goals this season, Parkey had the second-highest total in team history and the most by a rookie. His 88.9% field goal percentage is tied with Alex Henery (88.9 in 2011) for the Eagles record.
The Eagles scored their 11th return touchdown of the season on a blocked punt recovery by TE Trey Burton, which is tied for the third-highest total in NFL history. Burton became the 10th different player on the Eagles to reach the end zone via return, which is an NFL record
