It seems like only yesterday that Nick Foles exploded into the record books. A 7-touchdown performance against the Raiders left fans purring after a sensational win over some stiff competition. If that was the coming out party for Nick Foles. Last week was the comeback. Foles tossed four touchdown passes in his return to his post as the Eagles starting quarterback and now faces a familiar foe; the team who sent him to Canton.
Nick Foles is undefeated in his last eight starts at Lincoln Financial Field. The Raiders secondary comes limping into this matchup giving up 348 passing yards per game and have just f o u r interceptions on the year. Four. The secondary is riddled with injuries and while some impressive breakouts from the likes of Obi Melifonwu have helped, the team haven’t exactly played elite quarterbacks recently. Dak Prescott, Geno Smith and Alex Smith make up the last three faced.
Meanwhile, Nick Foles burst out of the gate for his first four-touchdown game since 2014 and a feat Carson Wentz reached three times this season. The offense came out firing on all cylinders against the Giants and weren’t afraid to allow Foles to let it rip. Spreading the ball around just as efficiently as Carson Wentz, Foles was surgical at times against New York.
“It’s a credit to Nick and the receivers, number one, for spending time all last week just getting some work in before, after and during practice.” Doug Pederson said of his quarterback when asked about their rise in chemistry. “It’s a tribute to all those guys working and wanting to be successful.
A guy like Nick, a veteran guy, he’s thrown to these guys before, but it’s been like in training camp and OTAs. It can be a little difficult. But yeah the timing, accuracy, and understanding where our guys are going to be. And a lot of it is I think just watching the guys run these routes when Carson was in there, too, and learning from that. That has really helped him have that timing last week.”
What’s even more impressive is that all four of the sixth-year quarterback’s touchdowns came inside the red zone. An area where the Eagles have been absolutely dominant this year due to the sheer amount of offensive optionality, Foles picked up where Wentz left off.
“I just think his poise and his play making.” Frank Reich responded when asked about the play of Foles on Sunday. “Obviously, you could tell right away, he’s been there before. Then he did what we needed him to do. He played good, sound football, but also be ready to make big plays. He provided that as well.”
Nick Foles will be playing his first home game for the Eagles since a 27-0 whitewash of the New York Giants back in October of 2014. Playing at the Linc once again, where the Eagles are still undefeated this year and Foles is in his last eight games, will be a prime opportunity for the quarterback to shine.
Battling to a road win against the Giants was big, but finally returning home after a long stint away will act as a serviceable recharge for the Eagles, giving them hope and the sleight of hand against a West-Coast team making a trip out into cold conditions on the most magical day of the year. Would it be so out of the ordinary to see Nick Foles surpass four touchdowns once again?
The Birds are the first team since the 2011 Green Bay Packers to have different starting quarterbacks throw at least four touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks. Could this be a threepeat to remember?
Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
