McCoy suffers concussion in fourth quarter

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Eagles were already without their starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Redskins because of Michael Vick’s concussion.

Now their Pro Bowl running back could be sidelined, too.

Head coach Andy Reid said LeSean McCoy sustained a concussion on the late fourth-quarter hit that left the team’s leading rusher on the ground for several minutes before being carted back to the locker room.

Left tackle King Dunlap described McCoy as “out of it,” an indication that McCoy’s concussion falls on the more severe side. McCoy had rushed for 45 yards and caught a team-leading six passes for 67 yards in the Eagles’ 31-6 loss at FexEd Field.

It’s fair to question why he was even on the field with the Eagles down by 25 with less than two minutes to play.

“Because we were trying to catch up and win the game,” Reid said. Reid also said he didn’t regret the decision to keep playing McCoy that deeply into a lopsided game.

McCoy is the team’s only running back with more than two years of experience. If he’s sidelined for Monday night’s game against Carolina, the majority of carries would likely go to rookie Bryce Brown, who rushed for 35 yards on five carries against the Redskins and has held down the No. 2 job all season.

Second-year running back Dion Lewis would also likely see his workload increase, especially with rookie running back Chris Polk nursing a turf toe injury. Lewis rushed for 102 yards last year as a rookie but lost out to Brown, a seventh-round pick, at training camp this year and hasn’t carried the ball yet this season.

Brown has gradually seen his carries increase throughout the season and he’s showing some of the burst and explosion that made him one of the highest-rated running back recruits coming out of high school before his college career hit some major roadblocks.

Brown averaged seven yards per carry against the Redskins. Two games ago, against the Saints, he rushed for a season-high 49 yards on four carries and peeled off a 40-yard run.

E-mail Geoff Mosher at gmosher@comcastsportsnet.com