USA TODAY International Edition
BACKING IT UP
Tom Pelissero goes deep to break down week
Eagles rise; banged- up Packers fall
BAY, WIS.
GREEN Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy wasted no time Sunday naming Scott Tolzien his starting quarterback for next week, which says everything you need to know about just how strange the NFC playoff chase has gotten.
The Nick Foles- led Philadelphia Eagles, seemingly at their nadir after a home loss to the New York Giants two weeks ago, beat the Packers 2713 on Sunday for their fifth road win. The Aaron Rodgers- less Packers, seemingly in control of the NFC North a week ago, lost their starting quarterback on the opening series again in a second loss in a row at Lambeau Field.
“You’ve got to win your home games,” McCarthy said. “We’ve lost two in ( seven) days, and it stings. It definitely stings.”
So does being forced to go with a quarterback who was on the practice squad before Rodgers broke his collarbone in last Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bears. Tolzien did make some plays Sunday in relief of veteran backup Seneca Wallace ( groin) in his regular- season NFL debut.
Tolzien, 26, also made a couple of damaging errors — namely, a throw with no air under it that Eagles cornerback Brandon Boykin picked off in the end zone and another interception to linebacker DeMeco Ryans on a late throw across the middle.
The latter set up an Eagles field goal that made it 20- 3 midway through the third quarter. The Pack- ers never pulled closer than 10 points.
“I feel like guys are confident in what we’re doing, and guys aren’t surprised that we’re playing good or we won in Green Bay,” Ryans said. “Guys are feeling like we’re supposed to come out and win these games.”
This is how strange it has gotten: The Eagles can speak about their winning mentality again, weeks after they appeared left for dead. They were a half- game behind the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East standings entering Dallas’ game at the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night.
Foles is up to 16 touchdown passes without an interception and seems locked in as the starter even if Michael Vick gets healthy.
“I think a lot of people kind of forgot how good we really are, how effective we are,” the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy said after rushing 25 times for 155 yards. “The first six weeks we were very explosive, putting some of the stats up and breaking records.”
It was easy to forget that the Eagles were putting up 10 points total in losses to the Cowboys and Giants before exploding against the Oakland Raiders in Week 9. Just as it’s easy to forget how the Packers were rolling until they lost Rodgers, who’s out for at least a couple more games.
Tolzien spent the last two seasons as the San Francisco 49ers’ thirdstringer and didn’t join the Packers practice squad until Sept. 2. Now he’s in line for his first NFL start next week, against the Giants, leading an offense that’s missing receiver Randall Cobb and tight end Jermichael Finley and a line that suffered two more injuries.
“We don’t have a lot of people,” Packers running back Eddie Lacy said. “We’re all going to have to trust one another, believe in one another that we can pull it out until we get back the guys that we’re missing.”