Running back LeSean McCoy was sick most of last week and he still didn’t feel great Sunday when the Eagles played the Dallas Cowboys. And that, Eagles coach Andy Reid said, is why McCoy had only 16 carries in the 38-23 loss to the Cowboys.

But if McCoy was so sick, why was he so good? He averaged 5.1 yards per carry for the game and in the second half he averaged almost 9 yards per carry on his way to an 82-yard afternoon. That production is why Reid was once again asked about McCoy’s limited role in the offense -- he had just seven carries in the second half even though the Eagles went the entire half with a rookie quarterback playing in his first NFL game.

After the game, McCoy said he felt fine, but he also parried questions about his lack of carries and focused on the team’s problems, instead.

“It’s not as frustrating as not winning the game,’’ he said. “I felt as though we had opportunities to win the game, but we just didn’t get it done.”

The Eagles usually get it done when McCoy gets the ball -- they’re 10-2 when he rushes for 100 yards, so it would seem to make sense for the Eagles to make sure McCoy gets his yards. But he doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think we lost the game because of the amount of carries I had,’’ he said. “I really don’t. … I don’t think running today was a big issue.”

Injury report: WR Jason Avant left Sunday’s game with a strained hamstring and Andy Reid said it would "be a stretch" for him to play Sunday vs. Washington. Riley Cooper would take over Avant’s role as the No. 3 receiver and Damaris Johnson would move up to No. 4. … Actually, Cooper could end up being No. 2 -- Jeremy Maclin strained his neck Sunday when he was flipped in the air while going up for a pass, and on Monday Reid said Maclin “… is pretty sore today. We’ll see how he does throughout the week.”

Sad-sack special teams: The Eagles used to have one of the best special teams units in the NFL and now they have one of the worst. That showed up again Sunday, when the Eagles averaged 4.0 yards on punt returns and 18.8 yards on kickoff returns and then had the worst breakdown of the game, allowing Dallas to return a punt for a touchdown.

Reid said the special teams’ play has “been up and down’’ and defended special teams coordinator Bobby April.

“I think Bobby’s a good football coach,’’ Reid said. “We’ve got to do a better job -- he’s got to do a better job, the players have to do a better job and then we’ll bust some of these and get some big plays.”

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow@CBSEagles.