Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor wears his “53 Angry Men” t-shirt after the Birds knocked off the Buffalo Bills 23-20. Agholor caught a 53-yard TD pass in the victory. Photo by Al Thompson.

Many of the Eagles in the post game locker room sported T-Shirts that said “53 Angry Men.”

The slogan on the shirts provided by Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie is an obvious reference to their rekindled passion on the field.

For the past two weeks the Eagles have played angry and the result was wins over teams many thought this team would not win.

Sunday’s 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills (6-7) put the Eagles (6-7) on a clear path to win the NFC East and host a payoff game at the Linc.

“He was pretty pissed because they took a Super Bowl from us back in ’04,” Eagles tackle Lane Johnson said at his locker. “He was angry and he wanted us to be angry. We played angry and we ended up winning.”

Johnson said the Eagles have some momentum and need to hold onto it.

“I said last week that we were trying to approach this game like we did against the Patriots,” Johnson said. “We tried to sustain momentum whenever we got it. I think we did it. It wasn’t pretty at the end, but somehow we were able to come out with a win.”

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford managed the game plan well, had no fumbles and one interception that came from more from the heat of the battle that an ill-advised throw.

Bradford was 23 for 38 for 247 yards including a terrific 53-yard strike to rookie receiver Nelson Agholor to put the Eagles ahead 14-7 in the second quarter.

The touchdown was set up by a muffed punt by Bills wide receiver Marcus Thigpen. The fumble was recovered by Eagles linebacker Bryan Braman.

Agholor said he found the shirt in his locker and like many of his teammates he donned the shirt for his trip home.

“It’s a great saying and a great way to look at it.” said Agholor, who finished with three catches for 62 yards. “Because, at the end of the day, it’s an aggressive game. It’s a tough game for tough people. We’ve gotta come out there angry and play tough.”

LeSean McCoy carried the ball 20 times for just 74 yards (3.7 yards per carry) and did not score. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

The Eagles took a 7-0 on their first drive of the game when Bradford led his team on a nine-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Darren Sproles taking the ball in from the one-yard line.

The big play of the drive was a 21-yard completion to tight end Zach Ertz.

Head coach Chip Kelly started the drive calling a 42-yard bomb to Riley Cooper who was well covered by Bills defensive back Leodis McKelvin.

Copper appeared to make the catch, the ruling on the filed was it was a catch. but was overturned on a protest by Bills head coach Rex Ryan.

But the message was clear: Kelly was going to be aggressive.

Kelly said it was more his team playing together.

“I just think our team is playing together as a team,” the coach said. “I think all three phases are playing well. Obviously, there are things we always have to clean up and there still things we can get better at, but we are playing really good team football. On the defensive side we’re tackling well right now and we are getting a lot of contributions from our special teams. I got some big plays out of the offense today.”

The Eagles took a 17-10 lead just before the half on a 45-yard Caleb Sturgis field goal.

The Eagles took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and drove 57 yards on 14 plays setting up a Sturgis 41-yard field goal that made the score 20-10.

The Bills rallied to tie the score on a 40-yard Dan Carpenter field goal and a 19-yard touchdown run by Mike Gillislee.

The score remained tied 20-20 until there was 3:30 left in the fourth quarter when Bradford led the Eagles on a 54-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard Sturgis field goal that made the score 23-20. The highlight of the drive happened Bradford hit Ertz with a 41-yard catch-and-run that will no doubt stay on his career highlight reel.

Bradford talked about the play that set up the winning score.

“That was huge,” Bradford said. “You call that play thinking that you may get four and get the first down. He probably gets pushed out of bounds and we got first and ten. But for him to make the catch-and-run that he did, that’s just a bonus. And it was pretty cool. It looked like he was never going to go down. And it’s plays like that that really get us going and kind of spark us.”

The defense was solid again. But the front seven was responsible for dealing with a fired up and emotional LeSean McCoy who has not been shy about his displeasure with Kelly and the way he was sent packing via a trade to Buffalo that brought the oft-injured linebacker Kiko Alonsa to Philadelphia.

McCoy carried the ball 20 times for just 74 yards (3.7 yards per carry) and did not score.

McCoy, the Eagles all-time leading rusher, declined to speak after the game, was seen storming off the field after the game, and as he ran down exit ramp, throwing his helmet into the Bills locker room.

“Cox is a great player. He really shows up well on tape and we got to experience it firsthand today. I did not play my best and he beat me early and often. You have to take your hat off to him.” — Richie Incognito on playing against Fletcher Cox.
Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

Bills offensive lineman Richie Incognito was asked if McCoy’s emotions got the best of him.

“I think LeSean is an emotional guy,” Incognito said. “We were all hyped up and we wanted to win the game for him but I do nor think that emotions played a part in the game. It was just dumb penalties.

The Bills committed 15 penalties for 101 yards. Several infractions killed drives and kept Buffalo from gaining momentum.

Fletcher Cox led the Eagles defense with eight tackles , two for loss plus a quarterback hurry.
Mychal Kendricks and Malcolm Jenkins also had eight tackles.

Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor was just 19 of 36 for 268 yards, a touchdown and an interception that ended the game.

The five-year veteran almost stole the game rushing out of trouble eight times for 53 yards. But Cox and his fellow defenders kept the Bills offensive line on its heels all afternoon.

“Cox is a great player,” Incognito said. “He really shows up well on tape and we got to experience it firsthand today. I did not play my best and he beat me early and often. You have to take your hat off to him. I am man enough to say that I did not play well but we have to get back to work and move on to Washington.”

The Eagles are home again this Sunday for a national TV appearance against the high-flying Arizona Cardinals who will come to town with an 11-2 record and a mission to earn a first-round bye.

The Eagles will head into the game with an anointed leader in Bradford. The six-year veteran seems to have come back completely from missing two seasons as a result of knee injuries. He is 6-2 this season in games he has started and finished.

Every player, especially on defense, remarked on how vocal he has become and how he has taken over the team. Defensive tackle Beau Allen was asked if he appreciates the way Bradford has developed into the face of the Eagles.

“Absolutely,” Allen said without hesitation. “Sam just seems so much more comfortable. He did a great job of rallying everyone together before the game and getting everyone on the same page. He’s really showing a lot of emotion and I think that’s really important for a leader of the team.”

It didn’t hurt to get a little angry either.