Nick Foles is one of the stories of the year in the NFL.
Passer rating through 13 weeks: Nick Foles 125.2, Peyton Manning 115.3.
Touchdown-to-interception differential: Nick Foles plus-19, Tom Brady plus-11.
Interceptions thrown: Nick Foles 0, Matthew Stafford 14.
Yards per attempt: Nick Foles 9.14, Tony Romo 7.14.
Perhaps most significantly, the Eagles are 5-0 in Foles’ complete games.
So the Eagles are tied for the lead in the NFC East with Dallas this morning at 7-5—though Dallas holds the tiebreaker—and Philadelphia can thank Foles for that. Since he wrested the job from an injured Mike Vick a month ago, the Eagles are 4-0 and Foles has been close to perfect. For the season he’s a 63 percent passer, with 19 touchdowns and no interceptions. It’s December, and that’s right: no interceptions.
Well, no interceptions that have stuck, anyway.
On Sunday, trying to get some insurance for a 24-21 lead with four minutes left, Foles had a 2nd-and-7 at his 34-yard line, and he faced a heavy rush. Instead of throwing it away, Foles floated one down the middle of the field into coverage. Cornerback Patrick Peterson picked it off—and there went the Foles streak. But a late flag came flying, and Tyrann Mathieu was called for holding wideout Jason Avant.
“Man, horrible throw, horrible decision,” Foles said from Philadelphia an hour after the game. “When I saw the flag and heard the call, I said, ‘Thank you God.’ I learned my lesson there. But that’s what I try to do: I build a database with decisions like that, and I learn from them. If I get that same look the next time, I’ll make a different throw, or I’ll throw it away. The good thing about it is, Coach has confidence in my decision-making.”
I wondered if Foles looks at his gaudy stat line, ever, and whether he ever thinks, I can’t throw an interception. Wouldn’t that thought naturally occur to you? It would to me. Maybe that’s why I’m not an NFL quarterback. Well, that, and a few other physical reasons.
“No, I don’t think about it,” he said. “You can’t. You throw the ball into some tight spaces, and if you’re going to say, ‘Don’t throw an interception,’ there are throws you wouldn’t try to make.
In the NFL you have to try them. I’m not afraid to make a mistake. As a quarterback, you can’t be. One of the things that’s helped me in this position is my parents taught me attention to detail. And if you’ve done all the work and play one snap at a time and do the best you can on every snap, you’re going to be confident enough to make those throws.”
Foles is not an athletic quarterback, which everyone can see. But this game showed he has the kind of functional athleticism that works even against an aggressive and quick rush such as Arizona’s. On the first Philadelphia touchdown of the day, Foles used the Cards’ aggressiveness against them. He fake-pitched left to LeSean McCoy, who entered the game as the league’s leading rusher. When McCoy runs left, Foles moves to pitch left and most of the line runs left, what’s the defense going to do? Follow McCoy. But Foles held the ball, scrambled right, and found rookie tight end Zach Ertz (well-covered, to Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ credit) for a six-yard touchdown strike. “I knew they’d flow to what we were doing with that fake pitch,” said Foles, “and Zach was right where he should be.”
Foles said he appreciates how magnanimous Vick has been, both in the quarterback room and publicly; Vick has said Foles should keep the job because he’s playing so well. “One of the most dynamic quarterbacks in NFL history is also an incredible teammate,” Foles said. “He helps me every day.” He thinks he’s proven you don’t have to be a Vick to succeed in the Chip Kelly offense, and who can argue with him?
I don’t know if the Eagles, who will have to beat Dallas in Week 17 and probably need other help before then, can win the division. I do know Foles has given Kelly and GM Howie Roseman a lot to think about after the season in draft prep. Maybe Philly ignores the strong crop of quarterbacks in the 2014 draft, re-signs Vick at a reasonable, incentive-based wage, and goes with the same three passers next year: Foles, Vick, Matt Barkley. The physical toll of the position has shown this year, with Vick and Foles being out for periods after big hits. Kelly might figure he needs three he trusts to make it through a 16-game season.
“I feel I’ve played well, but not as well as I can,” Foles said. “I’m 24. There’s still a lot of growth in my game. I need to improve a lot of things, especially my game management. But I think everyone tries to overanalyze the kind of quarterback that’s best for this offense.”
It’s a moot point now. Foles, a clear No. 2 on Labor Day, is one of the most important players in the league as the NFL heads into the final quarter of the season.
