An unlikely quarterback matchup
Once teammates, Foles and Keenum set to face off in the NFC title game
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – At least Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum has a sense of humor.
The unlikeliness of his pairing in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles has become a source of fascination for many. They were teammates on the 2015 St. Louis Rams. Both began 2017 as backups in Minnesota and Philadelphia and moved into the starting lineup because of injuries to Sam Bradford and Carson Wentz, respectively.
“I know this is what all you guys predicted back in the day, was a Foles versus Keenum NFC championship. So good job to all you guys that predicted that,” Keenum said dryly Wednesday.
Keenum called Foles one his best friends and said they’ve kept in touch throughout this wild season.
It took a circuitous series of developments for both quarterbacks to wind up here, one game away from Super Bowl LII.
“It’s pretty wild,” Foles said Wednesday. “But like I’ve said, Case’s success doesn’t surprise me because we were together, we prepared together and we were around each other every day.
“The big message is, no matter what happens, you have to keep believing and never give up.”
Let’s refresh, and maybe make a flow chart:
The Rams, while still in St. Louis, traded Bradford to Philadelphia in March 2015 in exchange for Foles, who signed a two-year extension five months later with the expectation he would be the starter for the foreseeable future. However, he lost the job to Keenum midway through the season.
In March 2016, the Rams traded with the Tennessee Titans in order to move up to the No. 1 pick of the draft. They would ultimately select Califor- nia’s Jared Goff, signaling the end of Foles’ brief tenure. Foles was later released, signed with the Chiefs (to play for Andy Reid, who drafted Foles in 2012 with Philadelphia) before returning to the Eagles this season.
Also in the spring of 2016, the Eagles made a deal with the Cleveland Browns to acquire the No. 2 pick in the draft and later picked Carson Wentz, clearly signaling that Bradford was not in their long-term plans.
In September 2016, the Vikings lost starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a devastating knee injury and traded a first-round pick to Philadelphia for Bradford, who went on to set the singleseason record for completion percent- age (71.6%) that season.
Keenum, who lost his starting job to Goff in November 2016, signed a oneyear contract with the Vikings last offseason to be Bradford’s backup. When Bradford suffered a knee injury in Week 1, Keenum took over and started the rest of the way save a brief return by Bradford in Week 5.
He went 11-3 in the regular season, then threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs as time expired to beat the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round last weekend.
Foles spent the first 14 games this season as the backup to Wentz, who emerged as an MVP candidate before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in December.
Foles won two of his three regularseason starts and threw for 246 yards (with no touchdowns or interceptions) in the divisional round win against Atlanta.
Bradford, meanwhile, is finally healthy and was restored to the Vikings roster last week — to back up Keenum, a spot Bridgewater had returned to claim late in 2017.
All caught up?
Keenum and Foles remain underdogs, leading teams that also view themselves that way despite matching 14-3 records and the top two seeds in the NFC.
“Are we proud of what we’ve accomplished? Heck yeah. Is there more ahead of us? Heck yeah,” Keenum said.
He spent the last few days trying to return to his normal game-week routine following the wild finish to Sunday’s game.
His throw to Diggs (and Diggs’ run to the end zone) has been replayed endlessly, leading to more media attention, texts and phone calls than Keenum is used to.
“Those are good problems to have,” Keenum said. “And, really, they’re not even problems.”