Mark Sanchez, LeSean McCoy Picking Up Eagles Offense at Perfect Time

There was a feast that took place this Thanksgiving in Arlington, Texas. But that feast wasn't meant for the home team.

The Philadelphia Eagles, led by the outstanding play of Mark Sanchez and LeSean McCoy, took command of the NFC East, beating the Dallas Cowboys 33-10. This crucial victory puts the Eagles at 9-3 for the season and moves the Cowboys back to 8-4.

It was a dominant performance for Chip Kelly's team, as they outplayed Dallas on both sides of the ball. Offensively speaking—because, let's face it, that's the most exciting element about the Eagles—Sanchez was superb.

His numbers weren't astronomical, but they were efficient. Sanchez threw 29 passes, completing 20 of those for 217 yards and a touchdown. He also used the read-option effectively, running the ball seven times for 28 yards and a score on the opening drive.

The most important part of Sanchez's day wasn't the numbers he posted up. It was the mere fact that he was decisive. He made all of the throws he was asked to quickly and without hesitation.

Fox Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer mentioned on Twitter how much a new environment can change a player:

Kelly's scheme is riveting. When it's executed properly, it allows positional players to take advantage of prodigious amounts of space. When Sanchez is able to breathe in a clean pocket, he's able to maximize that space and give his guys a chance to make things happen.

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin caught eight balls for 108 yards, Jordan Matthews scored a touchdown, heck, even Riley Cooper reeled in four passes for 32 yards.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

To say that Sanchez cleansed himself of those "Butt Fumble" demons a few Thanksgivings ago would be fitting. Knowing that, the 28-year-old quarterback addressed the issue during his postgame presser, via Andrew Perloff of Sports Illustrated:

Sanchez deserves a lot of credit, that's clear. He controlled the offense from the opening snap and made it look easy against the Cowboys. But we can't forget about McCoy. For the second week in a row, the snappy tailback looked like the running back we all came to love last year.

He was shifty, he was explosive in the open field, and he was a handful to bring down.

McCoy ran the ball 25 times for 159 yards and a touchdown. His yards-per-carry average of 6.4 was his second-highest total of 2014—he averaged 6.8 yards a clip against the New York Giants on October 12.

The more he ran the ball, the more gassed the Cowboys defense looked.

It was easy to write McCoy off earlier this season when the offensive line had their issues. But now that the Eagles appear to be clicking on all cylinders, McCoy's production has suddenly returned.

Chart created on Infogr.am

You can't say it enough: Watching the Eagles decimate the Cowboys in their building was inspiring. Games like these make the 53-20 blowout loss handed to the Birds by the Green Bay Packers earlier this November look like nothing more than an anomaly.

Sanchez is spreading the football around, and McCoy is taking pressure off the passing attack by gashing any defense that's put in his way. If that combination holds up, it's going to make the Eagles a very dangerous team come January.

Looking forward for a second at their remaining schedule, the duo of Sanchez and McCoy don't have a cakewalk to the playoffs. Next week they play the Seattle Seahawks and follow that game with a rematch against what you think will be a more rested Cowboys squad.

The Seahawks and their vaunted defense are going to be the biggest test for the Eagles. Right now they are giving up a league-leading 296 total yards per game.

For an explosive Eagles team, that just produced 464 yards of offense against the Cowboys, that battle is going to be one of the more interesting ones to watch this season.

It's likely the NFC East will be decided the following week when the Eagles and Cowboys go at it for a second time. Despite what we just saw, both of these teams wound up splitting the season series last year.

Finally, they close their season on the road with two tough divisional battles against Washington and the New York Giants.

Sanchez, who's been the consummate professional since signing with the team, understands that's the case, per the Eagles' official Twitter account:

We still have a ways to go, but if you're an Eagles fan, you have to like what you saw this Thanksgiving. Coach Kelly's offense is on fire right now with Sanchez and McCoy playing a high level.

The fact that this is all happening at a perfect time makes the news that much better.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com.