Foles out to seize surreal moment
Eagles’ backup plan puts quarterback in some elite company
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Austin native Nick Foles has an opportunity to join an impressive and interesting group of backup quarterbacks who have won Super Bowls.
Foles benefits from having a head coach and offensive coordinator who were longtime NFL backups and understand what he has been experiencing since replacing the injured Carson Wentz late in the season.
Coach Doug Pederson backed up Brett Favre in Green Bay and won a Super Bowl ring.
Offensive coordinator Frank Reich backed up Jim Kelly in Buffalo and engineered the greatest comeback in NFL history, overcoming a 35-3 deficit against the Oilers in a wild-card game in the 1992 postseason. The Bills won 41-38 in overtime.
If Foles helps Philadelphia upset New England in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium, he’ll be in the company of Hall of Fame quarterbacks like Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Kurt Warner and Tom Brady — all of whom replaced starters on their way to winning championships.
That fearsome foursome replaced starters in their Super Bowl-winning seasons. But depending on your definition of a backup quarterback, Foles’
situation is probably closer to Baltimore’s Earl Morrall, Washington’s Doug Williams and the New York Giants’ Jeff Hostetler.
Foles, who attended Westlake High School and the University of Arizona, became the Eagles’ starter after Wentz suffered a torn ACL in a victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the 14th game of the season.
After helping the Eagles defeat Atlanta and Minnesota in the playoffs, Foles is one victory away from leading Philadelphia to its first title since 1960.
“This is a great responsibility to be on the biggest stage in football,” Foles said. “It’s very humbling, and I’m just embracing it. It’s an unbelievable experience.
“I’m so blessed to be in this moment. I’m so grateful, and I know come game time I owe it to my teammates to do everything I can to help win the game.”
From backups to ringleaders
Backup quarterbacks like Foles have experienced success in Super Bowls.
Morrall — known as perhaps the preeminent No. 2 quarterback in league history with Baltimore and Miami — came off the bench to replace the injured Johnny Unitas to help the Colts defeat Dallas in Super Bowl V.
In Super Bowl XXV, Hostetler helped the Giants defeat Buffalo after replacing the injured Phil Simms with two games left in the 1990 season. Bill Parcells’ Giants won their last two games and two playoff games with Hostetler.
In a game known more for Scott Norwood’s missed field goal than Hostetler’s performance, the Giants won their first Super Bowl. Hostetler, who threw 25 passes in regular season, completed 20-of-32 for 222 yards and a touchdown.
Washington was hoping to win its second Super Bowl in 1987, a season interrupted by a players’ strike.
Coach Joe Gibbs started Jay Schroeder at quarterback that season. Williams came off the bench twice in place of the injured Schroeder. He won a start at the end of the season when Schroeder was hurt.
Even though Schroeder was healthy, Gibbs went with Williams, and he had one of the greatest performances in Super Bowl history. After having oral surgery Saturday, Williams completed 18-of-29 for 340 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-10 victory over Denver in Super Bowl XXII.
Other quarterbacks such as Oakland’s Jim Plunkett in Super Bowl XV and Baltimore’s Trent Dilfer in Super Bowl XXXV replaced starters during the season and helped their teams win. But their opportunities didn’t come late in the season like Foles’ did.
‘Played like a star’
There was panic in Philadelphia when Wentz was injured.
“Even though the outside world was going crazy and thinking the wheels were falling off our offense and our team, internally, there wasn’t a seed of doubt in Nick with our schemes and what we’d been doing all year offensively,” Reich said. “Everybody knew Carson was a dynamic player, but we all also knew this team was stronger than any one player.”
The Eagles were 11-2 when Wentz went down. Foles finished the victory and was 1-1 in the last two regular-season games.
“Being a backup quarterback and stepping into a playoff situation, it’s hard to express the level of confidence we had in Nick,” Reich said. “That’s why we got him. He’s stepped in a played like a star, and that’s what we thought he could do.”
Pederson calls the plays. He had a conservative game plan in a 15-10 victory over the Falcons in a divisional-round game. He stunned the Vikings with an aggressive game plan in a 38-7 victory in the NFC championship game in which Foles threw three touchdown passes.
“He’s handled his business extremely well,” Pederson said. “He tries to block out the clutter as much as he can and focus on his job. The last month has been special for him. He’s put himself in a really good position. Over the last month, you’ve seen what he’s capable of doing.”
Now Foles wants to do more, but he’s going against Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback in history who’s trying to win a sixth Super Bowl ring.
The journey back
Foles has come a long way since he thought about retiring after the 2015 season when he was benched by the Rams and released in the offseason. Then he called Kansas City coach Andy Reid and asked for a chance. He appeared in only three games for the Chiefs in 2016 before signing with the Eagles this season.
“The journey to get here after the last several years is unbelievable,” Foles said. “We all know what it is to love the game, but to wake up and not experience that joy was tough.
“But going through it was the best thing that happened to me. There were a lot of things I dealt with emotionally, but I’m a better person and a better player because of it. It makes this moment even more surreal.”
Foles signed a two-year contract to back up Wentz.
“Every moment I spend in this game is a gift,” he said. “I’m excited about the challenge. You want to play the best on this stage.
“I’m focused on this game, living in the moment, especially with what I’ve gone through the last couple of games. My perspective has changed like crazy since I came back. I have a lot of responsibility (Sunday), and I can’t wait.”