RUNNING BACKS as big as Bryce Brown, who is 6-foot and 225 pounds, aren't supposed to be as fast as Bryce Brown.
They aren't supposed to be able to run a 4.37 40-yard dash like Brown did at the predraft workout that convinced the Eagles to take a seventh-round flier on a kid who quit two college programs and entered the draft with just 104 college carries.
And they aren't supposed to get to a corner and turn it and have an entire defense eat his dust like Brown did early in the second quarter Monday night when the rookie bolted 65 yards down the right sideline for his first NFL touchdown.
It was the longest scoring run by an Eagle since a 66-yarder by LeSean McCoy in 2009, and the seventh longest by an Eagles rookie ever.
Brown, who rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns in Monday night's 30-22 loss to Carolina, has shown glimpses of his special running ability this season in occasional cameos as McCoy's backup. He went into the Carolina game averaging 4.4 yards per carry on 32 rushing attempts. Had an impressive 40-yard run 3 weeks ago in the Eagles' 28-13 loss to the Saints.
"That run [against the Saints] definitely meant a lot to my confidence," Brown said last week. "I want to continue to make strides like that. When I get in there, I just want to make big plays and put our team in a position to be successful."
Brown took a giant stride with his performance Monday night. Starting in place of McCoy, who was sidelined with a concussion, Brown turned in the most prolific rushing performance by a rookie in Eagles history, besting Correll Buckhalter's 134-yard performance in a 2001 game against the Cardinals.
Unfortunately for Brown and the Eagles, he also lost two fumbles. The first came with 6:21 left in the third quarter at the Carolina 32 on the tail end of a 6-yard run and killed a potential scoring drive.
The second, with 1:16 left in the third quarter, gave the Panthers the ball in Eagles territory. They drove down and kicked a field goal that gave them the lead for good, 24-22.
"Bryce did what we thought he could do coming in," Eagles coach Andy Reid said after his team dropped its seventh straight game to fall to 3-8. "He's a talented kid. It's a shame he had two fumbles. He was on a roll there.
"But he'll learn from it. He's a smart kid. He's got a great future ahead of him."
Brown didn't play much in college. He was the top high school player in the country coming out of Wichita East High School in Kansas. Signed with Tennessee and got 104 carries as a true freshman. But when his coach, Lane Kiffin, bolted for USC, Brown also left, transferring to Kansas State.
He sat out a year, played in just one game last year for the Wildcats, then quit football and quit school.
Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, who usually are slow to trust rookies, had shown surprising faith in Brown. Even before McCoy got hurt, they used him in every situation this season, including in the red zone and down by their own goal line.
"He was raw and had so little experience," running backs coach Ted Williams said last week. "But you knew his upside was really good and that in time, he would become what you hoped he would be. I think it's to his credit that he worked hard enough to show enough ability to accelerate the process.
"Once you got him into the preseason and saw how well he was assimilating what we were doing, and how well he performed at the level we thought he could perform, it made it easier [to put him out there]."
Reid won't put running backs on the field unless they can do two things. That is, two things besides being able to run with the football. One is being able to pass-protect and pick up blitzes.
Despite his limited college background, Brown has been a quick learner in that department. Did a nice job 2 weeks ago in the Eagles' loss to the Cowboys of picking up a blitz by cornerback Orlando Scandrick, which enabled fellow rookie Nick Foles to complete a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin.
The other is hang on to the football. Until Monday night, Brown had done a decent job of that, fumbling only once. And the Eagles recovered that one. But he wasn't so fortunate against the Panthers.
On his first fumble, defensive tackle Sione Fua knocked the ball out of his hands and it was recovered by linebacker Luke Kuechly at the Carolina 38-yard line.
Brown gave the Eagles the lead on their next possession, getting to the corner again on the Panthers and scoring on a 5-yard run.
But the next time he touched the ball, with 1:23 left in the third quarter and the Eagles clinging to a one-point lead, he fumbled again.
Defensive end Charles Johnson knocked this one out of his arms. Linebacker Thomas Davis recovered.
"Those two fumbles were a key to our loss," Brown said after the game. "I can't do that."
Besides his 65-yard run, Brown had three other double-digit runs in the first half, when he rushed for 129 yards on nine carries. He also had a 24-yard run in the third quarter.
Nine of Brown's 19 carries went for 6 yards or more. Five went for 11 yards or more. He had just two carries for negative yards.
"That's what my story's been about," Brown said. "Making the most of my opportunities. The offensive line did a great job of blocking tonight. I just did my job. I stayed with my keys, stay with my landmarks."
It's unlikely that McCoy will be able to play Sunday night against the Cowboys in Dallas, which means Brown will get another start. But even after McCoy returns, Brown will continue to get carries.