Eagles RB McCoy will return, start Sunday

He's not wired that way.

"I don't live like that, just taking off," McCoy said Wednesday. "I'm a competitor, and I'm going to finish the season out."

McCoy will start at running back against Washington (8-6) on Sunday in his first game back after missing four because of a severe concussion. The Eagles (4-10) are playing out the string in another disappointing season, so it would've been understandable if McCoy just sat out the last two games after a serious head injury.

But McCoy wants to play, no matter the score, situation or circumstance. He was injured in the final minutes of a blowout loss to the Redskins on Nov. 18. Still, he defended coach Andy Reid's decision to keep him in the game that late with the outcome already decided.

"Even when I got hurt, people blamed Coach for a bit," McCoy said, "but I want to be in there."

Rookie Bryce Brown filled in nicely for McCoy, running for 347 yards and four touchdowns in his first two career starts. But Brown had just 40 yards in the next two games and fumbled four times in four games.

Even still, Reid plans to rotate the two backs.

"I'm going to keep a close eye on him," Reid said of McCoy. "It won't be a normal workload like you'd see during the season when he's fresh. He's coming off an injury. I understand that, so I'll keep a close eye on him. He'll work in as a starter and then Bryce has some valuable experience that he's gained over the last few weeks so we'll get him in there."

Before he got hurt, McCoy was far short of matching his 2011 numbers. He has 750 yards rushing and two touchdowns along with 40 catches for 235 yards and three scores.