Hard und Software » a good job of keeping our foot on the gas

PHILADELPHIA -- Carson Wentz is throwing more and more passes, a trend his coach wants to stop.Philadelphias rookie quarterback has averaged 45 passes per game the past two weeks, up from 30.8 attempts over the first six games. The reason is a sputtering rushing attack.The Eagles (4-4) have had fewer than 100 yards rushing in three of their four losses. Thats partly due to falling behind 14-0 three times and quickly turning to the pass.During their 3-0 start, they averaged 119 yards on the ground.I wouldnt necessarily like to drop any quarterback back that many times, coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. It goes back to being able to run the football and kind of hanging your hat there first and then (using) the play-action stuff.The Eagles abandoned the run early in a 28-23 loss to the Giants last week after Wentz threw a pair of interceptions that helped New York jump ahead 14-0. His first pick came on second-and-3, an ideal run situation. The second one was on third-and-5.Pederson also passed up field goals twice in the first half to go for it on fourth down and failed. The points couldve closed the gap and changed the course of the playcalling.We have put ourselves in a little bit of a bind these last couple of games, so the passing game kind of catches you up a little bit, Pederson said. But we still want to stick within the game plan, manage it that way, and use that run game to your advantage.The Eagles dont have a clear No. 1 back. Ryan Mathews, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher and former Pro Bowl player in San Diego, has lost his starting job to 33-year-old Darren Sproles. Mathews has nine carries in the last two games while Sproles ran 28 times. Rookie Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner also see action.Its still a little bit of the running back by committee, Pederson said. Obviously, we havent hung our hat on one guy, but we tend to lean more toward Darren Sproles. Its hard to take him off the field right now.Sproles is averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Barner (5.2) and Smallwood (4.4) have done well in limited playing time. Mathews still leads the team with 287 yards and five touchdowns, but his YPC is 3.8. He also has two fourth-quarter fumbles, including one that led to a 24-23 loss at Detroit.The veteran Sproles is an excellent punt returner who was mostly used as a situational back throughout his career. Hes only 5-foot-6 and 190 pounds, so Pederson has to be careful not to overuse him.Weve got to make sure we keep him healthy and keep him going, especially as the season wears on, Pederson said.Wentz doesnt mind carrying the load. But Philadelphias best formula for success is a balanced offense.We struggle with consistency, Wentz said. Thats something weve got to be better with. Weve got to be better with our details, just consistency and not shooting ourselves in the foot.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi Vans False . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Yeezy 700 Outlet .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. http://www.scontatescarpenikeoutlet.it/italia-balenciaga-offerte.html .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Outlet Nike Online . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. Air Force 1 Saldi .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. PITTSBURGH -- Matt Murray stood tall for the Pittsburgh Penguins during a key second-period sequence in which the short-handed Toronto Maple Leafs tried to make a push.Murray turned aside the threat and the Penguins took over from there, putting away a tired Maple Leafs team in the final 20 minutes.Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust scored in the third period to help Pittsburgh pull away for a 4-1 victory over Toronto on Saturday night.I think sometimes you give up opportunities and we kind of dodged one with some of the chances they got, Crosby said. Those were some big saves and we were able to get those go-ahead goals after that.Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz also scored and Murray stopped a career-high 35 shots as Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in nine games.Zach Hyman scored for the Maple Leafs and Frederik Andersen had 45 saves in his second start in two nights. Toronto has won just once in its last eight on the road.I thought our fatigue showed a bit in the third period, Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. Our goalie was good and we gave up two, what I think, are bad goals that are D-zone coverage.Murray kept the game tied at 1 late in the second period, denying Connor Brown and Matt Martin on a pair of point-blank, short-handed opportunities, in addition to a stop on another odd-man rush.My job is to make the save at the right time, to bail them out when they need it, and they came out hot in the third, said Murray, who has won his last 11 regular-season starts. We were pretty much unstoppable in the third.Kunitz put the Penguins ahead with 18 seconds left in the period when he flipped the puck over a sprawled Andersen.To get that goal late in the second definitely gave us a big boost, Crosby said.Rust made it 3-1 at 6:58 of the third period when he took a feed from Crosby at the faceoff dot and put a shot on Andersen. He got his own rebound and darted to the net, sweeping a shot past Andersens outstretched pad.Crosby extended the lead a little more than three minutes later, tapping in a twice-redirected shot from the top of the crease for his 10th of the season. Crosby, who missed the Penguins first six games with a concussion, has 10 goals and 133 points in his last nine.ddddddddddddThe Penguins, who rebounded from their first regulation loss on home ice Thursday against Minnesota, extended their unbeaten stretch against Toronto to nine games, including seven in Pittsburgh.Everyone has been there with back-to-back games, Crosby said. Going into the third, its not easy, but I thought we did a good job of keeping our foot on the gas and applying pressure.Hyman got Toronto on the scoreboard first less than two minutes into the game with a between-the-legs deflection over Murrays shoulder from the right post. It was Hymans second goal of the season and second in two nights.Malkin scored his eighth on the power play to tie it at 3:06 of the second. Kris Letangs initial shot from between the circles ricocheted off the end boards behind the net and Malkin was near the post to tap it in.Malkin has points in nine of his last 11 games, including four straight overall and six consecutive at home. Patric Hornqvist, who had an assist on the goal, has points in 11 of 15 games this season.This was the first meeting between Crosby and Maple Leafs rookie forward Auston Matthews. Crosby faced Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, four days after his first game against Edmonton star Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.Matthews, who had six goals and four assists in his first six games, hasnt scored since Oct. 25, and has just three assists in his last nine games. He was shut out again on Saturday with one shot in nearly 17 minutes of ice timeGame notes Leafs D Matt Hunwick played for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Oct. 25. ... Penguins F Tom Kuhnhackl was in the lineup for the first time in six games. ... The Penguins wore their Pittsburgh Gold white road jerseys on home ice for the first time since Game 2 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final against Chicago.UP NEXTToronto: Hosts Nashville on Tuesday night in the opener of a stretch of three of four at home.Pittsburgh: At Washington on Wednesday night to start a stretch of five of six on the road. ' ' '