Foles saves Eagles with game-winning drive
PHILADELPHIA >> Nick Foles threw for a club-record 471 yards Sunday.
It was his fourth game of 400 or more yards with the Eagles, besting the career franchise mark set by Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen.
But the most impressive play Foles made all day was returning to action after a devastating hit to the chest by Pro Bowl pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans in the waning minutes.
Foles was flat on his back long enough for patrons to get a snack and check their emails. The stoppage meant Nate Sudfeld had to play at least one snap of a game the Eagles had to win to avoid being eliminated from the playoffs. Veteran Chris Long thought about the Philly-Philly sculpture of Foles in the stadium courtyard. Then he prayed.
“I thought they were going to have to bury him next to the statue outside,” Long said. “They were going to have the statue and then like a little tomb for him. But he got up.”
Foles got up and did what he’d done much of the game, other than the two turnovers. He got the ball out quickly to teammates who could make plays. All four of his touchdown throws featured considerable runafter-the-catch. Darren Sproles turned a short throw into a 37-yard score. Zach Ertz, who’s been known to fall over his own feet, legged out a 23-yard score, Even the 83-yarder to Nelson Agholor, which traveled almost 60 yards in the air, had run after the catch.
So there Foles was, in second-and-10 at his 45yard line, the roughing the passer penalty on Clowney adding 15 yards to a 19yard completion to Alshon Jeffery.
Ertz, who caught 12 passes for 110 yards and two TDs, caught a 20-yarder on third down to put the Eagles in 50-plus yard field goal range for Jake “Money” Elliott.
Foles’ old school draw play to 35-year-old Darren Sproles set up the knockout field goal, as it gained 16 yards.
The Eagles drained the clock and Elliott delivered a 35-yard winner to give the Eagles a 32-30 victory and atone for missing a PAT.
Foles took forever to get to the podium after the game. It took awhile to read those X-rays.
“It was a great hit,” Foles said. “He got a good one on me. I was able to get my break back. My ribs are a little sore but all in all, I feel great.”
Clowney nearly ripped Foles’ head out of his torso with a facemask that for whatever reason wasn’t one of the 21 penalties enforced by referee John Parry and his penalty flag-happy crew. That happened on an unsuccessful two-point conversion.
“I just asked him if he saw what I felt and he didn’t at the time,” Foles said of his animated chat with Parry. “But we had a great conversation later. You know it’s a hard job to see everything. They did the best they could.”
The same could be said of Foles, and the Eagles (87). Beat Washington next weekend at FedEx Field, and a Minnesota Vikings (8-6-1) loss to the Chicago Bears puts the Eagles in the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys (9-6) clinched the NFC East with a win over Tampa Bay. There’s a remote chance the Eagles could get the fifth seed although it would take a collapse by the Seattle Seahawks.
There is a scenario in which the Eagles could play at home in the second round of the playoffs, but that’s too many ifs, ands or buts for our purposes. So, for all practical purposes, Foles has played his last home game for the Eagles because the franchise, as Pederson so eloquently stated last Friday, are Carson Wentz’s team.
Foles knew this day was coming. And damned if he didn’t get emotional enough to almost shut it down during his post-game presser. The room became quiet. If felt like one of those old movies where one of your favorite characters is about to go, the sad music plays and it’s hard to breathe, impossible to swallow and time to take out the handkerchief.
“I love playing in Philly,” Foles said. “I knew there was a chance this could be it. I don’t think about the future but I am aware of that because this city means a lot to me. A couple weeks ago when I ran out of the tunnel, I didn’t expect to play.”
Foles tried to sound like he still doesn’t know if he’ll play in the finale next week. He says it’s Pederson’s decision, which it really isn’t folks, it comes from higher up. But we’ll allow the hero his thoughts.
Foles also insisted he’s healthy, that the X-rays came out fine, and an NFL source echoed the good health report.
All of this means that Foles, not Wentz, is posi-