Nick Foles’ Breakout Performance: Have The Philadelphia Eagles Found Their Guy?
In just his fourth NFL win, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles broke out of the pack with a league record-tying seven touchdown passes Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
In the 49-20 win, Philadelphia’s fourth of the season, Foles joined the likes of Joe Kapp, Sid Luckman, Adiran Burke, George Blanda and Y.A. Tittle. Of course, the Eagles second-year man also joins contemporary Peyton Manning, who accomplished the feat this year against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.
“The greatest thing about it is the guys you do it with, so it’s something special for the Philadelphia Eagles organization,” Foles said after the win. “We were able to spread the ball around, but you’ve got to look at the key components that went into it. The O-line blocking, guys running great routes, making huge catches. So it’s a special moment for the organization.”
So, with such a breakout performance, have the Philadelphia Eagles found their guy under center for the future or just for the end of the season? Examine the facts.
Foles threw for 406 yards and those seven TDs against the Raiders’ 24th-ranked pass defense. True to his word, he spread the ball around, hitting five different Philadelphia Eagles receivers in those TD passes, with WR Riley Cooper hauling down three. The other Eagles receivers were tight ends Brent Celek and Zach Ertz, running back LeSean McCoy and wide out DeSean Jackson. Foles completed 22 of 28 passes and the Philadelphia Eagles went four-for-four on trips inside the red zone. Foles ended the day with a passer rating of 158.3. The Eagles QB was good for 59.6 points for fantasy football fans.
The thing is, Foles may have thrown more touchdowns for Philadelphia had he not been pulled after only one series in the fourth quarter. Eagles backup quarterback Matt Barkley subbed in for two series in the final frame.
Is Foles the guy for Philadelphia? He’s performed exceptionally well in his three wins this year, but they came against the bottom of the barrel, including Oakland, Tampa Bay, and the New York Giants. Mind you, the Bucs’ and Giants’ pass defenses are much better, servings as the middle of the road being ranked 15th and 16th respectively. Foles is having a decent year against decent teams and the Eagles defense isn’t giving him much room to work sometimes. Hopefully, the Philadelphia front office lets him develop but more likely is the 4-5 Eagles will draft well and grab a QB from the 2014 crop.
What do you think of Nick Foles’ performance for the Philadelphia Eagles? Should the Eagles keep him as a starter for the end of the season or beyond? Can Foles lead the Philadelphia Eagles to the playoffs in a dismal NFC East?
[Image courtesy of GIFD Sports]
