Eagles refused to be defined by one franchise quarterback
PHILADELPHIA » Stumped at every other turn, frustrated for longer than five decades, having tried everything else, the Eagles would surrender in 2016 to what they decided was the only real NFL truth. Two years later, they would learn, then celebrate, just the opposite.
Their plan, transparent and honest, was as costly as it was well-received. It was born from a moment in NFL history where only one strategy ever seemed to work. They would find a Franchise Quarterback, capital F, capital Q. In their case, they would spend two first-round draft picks, a second-rounder, a third and a fourth for the right to steal one from the ever-bumbling Cleveland Browns.
They would miss the picks later. They were prepared for that. But they had Carson Wentz, and all of the draft-a-nistas had their backs. He was the guy. He was the franchise. He was worth every pick, dollar and risk.
Eventually, or so the Eagles had come to be convinced, that would translate into a Super Bowl team, the way so many of the Super Bowl teams of that moment had been so rewarded. They had their Brett Favre, their Tom Brady, their Manning, one or the other. From there, it was just a matter of which Roman numerals would be required to be stitched onto their uniforms in some February not far away.
Then Wentz tore his knee. Even by then, the one dogma the Eagles had was in the process of being shredded, too. Suddenly, shockingly, pro football slid so quickly back to reality that it was as if it were trying to climb a greased Frankford Ave. lamppost. No longer was it a one-rule game: Best quarterback wins. With little warning, it returned to the original idea: Best team wins.
That’s why the Eagles were sprinting around the Linc Sunday night, looking for any drop of Gatorade left in any un-turned bucket. That’s why they will play in two weeks for a world championship. That’s why they defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 387, for the NFC champion- ship.
They won because they hit hard. They won because they executed with precision. And they won with a quarterback who, not long ago, was sharing space on the wrong side of the Rams’ depth chart with the other quarterback in the game. They won with Nick Foles, who is just a quarterback. And they defeated a team with Case Keenum, who is just a quarterback.
“I mean,” Foles said, “it’s been a crazy journey.”
By halftime Sunday, Foles had thrown for 208 yards and a touchdown, showing the kind of precision that would have had magazines trying to choose which photo to use for their covers, were it Wentz. He’d finish with 352 passing yards, including three touchdowns. That could be because Foles is simply more talented than so many suspected, back when he was a lightly recruited freeagent last summer.
More likely, it is because Howie Roseman surrounded all of his quarterbacks with gifted, veteran teammates. And because his offensive line kept Foles shielded. And because the reputation that Doug Pederson has been building as a play-calling savant has basis.
“We’ve had so many things go on, so many guys step up, so many injuries to guys who are injured or have done an amazing job of staying around the building and being a huge part of the heartbeat of this team,” Foles said. “That’s the DNA here. And we’ve talked about it over and over again. I really focus on that. When you step on the field, we’re always playing for each other. That’s the strength of our team.”
Wentz did that too, well enough to set a single-season franchise record for touchdown passes and to help provide Foles with the pole position in the NFC postseason race. The Eagles were not wrong in their belief that Wentz could be a special quarterback, though they well may plead that way the next time he comes in for a raise. But they have found that they can weave through an NFC postseason tournament with the quarterback who was around about when they committed to that notion.
“I think it says that they are on great teams, quite honestly,” Pederson said of the quarterbacks during the approach to conference championship weekend. “Listen, I’ve said this a lot of times and I’ll say it again: It’s not about one guy. Even Tom Brady has weapons on offense. And it’s the same way with the other three teams. They have got weapons around the quarterback. They all play great defense. And listen, ultimately, bottom line, it comes down to who can take care of the football.”
In the Super Bowl, the Eagles will face Brady. They could lose. Franchise Quarterbacks, like Brady, like Wentz, are valuable. Brady is more valuable than any.
But just when the Eagles convinced themselves they were necessary, the fireworks over the Linc were illuminating something else. It was saying they could do anything, and that means anything, with whatever quarterback they use. Contact Jack McCaffery @jmccaffery@21stcenturymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @JackMcCaffery