After 11 years, Nick Foles has called it quits—he’s retiring from the NFL. Fittingly, he’s doing it as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at his five most unforgettable performances with the team.
5. 2018 Week 16 vs. Houston — Playoff Hopes Stay Alive
Following an injury to starter Carson Wentz in 2018, Foles took over in an impossible situation. He had started that season due to the former still recovering from an ACL and LCL tear the season prior, but things were rocky once Wentz went down for the second time. Sitting at 6-7, the team’s only real chance was going undefeated the rest of the way and getting some help on top of that. Upsetting the 11-2 Los Angeles Rams in Week 15 was a start, but the 10-4 Houston Texans were up next—Foles took charge.
Not only did Foles set his own career high in passing yards with 471, but he set the franchise record, too. Completing 35 of his 49 attempts (71.4 percent) basically fresh off the bench with four touchdown passes to just one interception, he was incredible. It was enough to clinch an intense 32-30 win at home, setting up a do-or-die Week 17.
That was another game that the Eagles won, so they finished 9-7. But they had a problem. Needing the Chicago Bears (who had already clinched the playoffs and were thus content with benching their starters) to beat the Minnesota Vikings, things still looked dire. As fate would have it, the Bears came through and Philadelphia made the postseason.
Say, how did the Eagles do in those playoffs?
4. 2018 NFC Wildcard at Chicago — Double Doink
If we’re just looking at individual performances from Foles, this one is far closer to average than good stats-wise. He wasn’t even on the field when the most memorable play of this game happened, but he’s the one who made it possible. Let’s revisit Cris Collinsworth’s notoriously-coined “double doink” affair in wildcard weekend against, ironically, the Bears.
Following three consecutive wins at the end of the 2018 regular season (of course, including the one against the Texans), the Eagles were back in the postseason when it looked like they had no chance. Against the soaring Bears, Foles—but especially Philadelphia‘s defense, admittedly—kept the game close.
He had a sufficient day moving the ball with 25 completions on 40 attempts (62.5 percent), 266 yards in the air, and two touchdown passes versus two interceptions (one of which was a ball wrestled out of Wendell Smallwood’s hands). But his last drive of the game—with everything on the line—is when he stood out. Taking the Eagles all the way down the field with a roaring Soldier Field crowd making that just a bit harder, Foles was as cool as a cucumber and threw for a sweet touchdown on fourth-and-goal.
The Bears swiftly drove down the field, but the Eagles’ defense gave themselves at least a slight chance by making Bears kicker Cody Parkey take a stab at a 43-yard attempt. The kick was partially blocked and went off both the left upright (single doink), the crossbar (double doink), and out—Foles and the Birds lived to see another day with a 16-15 victory.
3. 2013 Week 9 at Oakland — Seven Touchdowns
Tying what could very well be an unbreakable NFL record (more so due to the “code” and not any athletic limitations) would probably be first on the list for most quarterbacks who only started 63 total games in the league, but not for Foles—we’ll see why in a bit. Getting back to this matchup, passing for a whopping seven touchdowns in a 49-20 win against the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders was a game to remember.
Foles had fewer incompletions (six) than touchdowns on the day, throwing for 406 yards on 28 pass attempts. He threw for his last touchdown with some time to spare in the third quarter, evidence of how hard this record is to beat—games aren’t ever close enough to justify keeping a starting quarterback off the bench after that seventh touchdown pass. There’s a code that teams do respect, so Foles should be in the history books for a very long time.
The impressiveness of passing for seven touchdowns aside, this was a huge victory that set up great things to come for Philadelphia. Starting the season 3-5 and scoring just 10 points combined against their division rival Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at home in the previous two weeks, things were spiraling for head coach Chip Kelly and his team. But that all changed with this win.
The Eagles won seven of their last eight games, clinching the NFC East title and finishing with a 10-6 record. The playoffs were a bit of a heartbreaker, losing to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints on a last-second field goal in the wildcard round, but this record-setting afternoon for Foles made that a reality. You know, if that season did go poorly, perhaps the Eagles wouldn’t have signed him in 2017. That’s purely speculation, but the 2013 season was his defining run and probably a big reason why he was brought back.
Speaking of which, why was 2017 so special, anyway?
2. 2017 NFC Championship vs. Minnesota — Hungry Dogs Run Faster
Following a 10-2 start to their season, the Eagles lost Wentz to that aforementioned ACL and LCL tear for the rest of their 2017 season—he was basically the undisputed MVP of the league at this time. Foles, signed to be the backup in the offseason after contemplating retirement during his post-Eagles days, was there to take over for a Philadelphia team starving for a championship. On paper? That sounds pretty bad.
And, immediately, almost nobody believed in him. In fairness, there was really no reason to even after he clinched out a low-scoring nail-biter against the Atlanta Falcons to make it to the NFC Championship in the first place. Foles, with all the pressure in the world and a Super Bowl berth on the line, had what was quite easily the best performance of his career since that Raiders game—four-and-a-half years later.
Against what was regarded as the NFL’s best defense at the time by many, Foles torched the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings. On 33 throwing attempts, he had 26 completions (78.8 percent), 352 passing yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He led the Birds to a 38-7 massacre—and their first trip to the Super Bowl in 13 years.
With a performance like this, that’s when real hope started to be put in Foles. One game doesn’t completely sell anyone on a player, but people were at least starting to respect the Eagles somewhat. The team was still an underdog heading into the Big Game, but they proved one thing, in the words of legendary center Jason Kelce: “Hungry dogs run faster”.
1. Super Bowl LII vs. New England — Ending the Drought
The hungry dog did indeed run faster against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at what was arguably the peak of their dominance. Foles didn’t just win, and he didn’t just win Super Bowl MVP. He had one of the best performances in Super Bowl history—pretty good for a “backup quarterback”.
With tens of millions of people watching across the country, Foles made each and every one of them remember his name. He completed 28 of his 43 passes (65.1 percent) for 373 yards, passed for three touchdowns, caught one on perhaps the most iconic trick play in history, and threw just one interception that wasn’t his fault, anyway—it was bobbled. Most importantly, he won the game 41-33 and gave Philadelphia its first Vince Lombardi Trophy in history—it took them 52 tries.
For this game, Foles will always be a hero in the city of Philadelphia. The sentimental value (perhaps somewhat unfairly) makes this the most important performance in Philadelphia sports history. Nothing will ever top it. This was a city that hadn’t seen a professional sports championship in 10 years, and its most popular team—the Eagles—hadn’t won since 1960.
Tears were shed, poles were climbed, lifelong fans got a long-awaited moment of triumph, and a city was brought together. Foles was the biggest reason for that.
They say championships are a team accomplishment—fair enough. But when we look back at Foles’ career, one piece of information is essential to remember. This backup out-dueled the greatest quarterback to ever live with everything on the line.
Enjoy retirement, Nick.
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