Nick Foles is Just What Eagles Fans Need
Week 15 of the NFL season is here. The Eagles are 6-7 and two games behind the Cowboys in the NFC East. The loss to Dallas last week killed any chance of the Eagles winning the division and getting into the Playoffs. Most Eagles fans considered the season over at the point. The door to the Playoffs cracked open with losses by Carolina and Minnesota. However, most fans felt a sense of hopelessness with an upcoming road game against the Los Angeles Rams, especially with the Rams coming off a lost to the Bears. Enter Nick Foles. Enter a glimmer of hope. In a weird way, Nick Foles is just what Eagles fans need right now.
Let’s make it clear. A healthy Carson Wentz is a better quarterback than Nick Foles, far better. Some of the Folesian society may disagree, but they are just wrong. Wentz has far more talent than Wentz. If the Eagles made Carson Wentz available for a first round pick, 90% of NFL GM would jump at that offer. We saw this offseason how many GMs jumped at a chance to get Nick Foles for a 1st round pick. NONE.
The reality is Carson Wentz hasn’t been himself. We’ve recently learned that he has a vertebrae fracture so that explains a lot. He’s been missing the long balls when he occasionally threw them. He’s been throwing with his arms instead of his entire body. His completion percentage is over 70%, but a lot of that has been underneath to the sure-handed Zach Ertz. Wentz just hasn’t looked right for weeks.
The Eagles have a 17% chance of getting into the Playoffs, according to stat site fivethirtyeight.com. Honestly, though, many didn’t hold out high hopes of Wentz beating the Rams on the road, not with the way he’s looked. Wentz has started out slow, which may be due to his back issues and the back needing to loosen up. Against the Rams, teams cannot start slow. That 17% chance felt like a hopeless 3%.
Then, we learned that Nick Foles will most likely start on Sunday vs. the Rams. That’s the hope, the glimmer, the spark that many Eagles fans needed. We have the hope for a miracle for one more week. And, why wouldn’t we. Foles beat all the odds last year and made a miraculous Playoff run bringing the fan base its first Lombardi trophy. So, why can’t it happen again?
To add additional hope, this is kind of a revenge game for Foles. He looked terrible during his time with the Rams. He’d love to come out and beat his former team on the road. A couple good games by Foles, who is a free agent after this year, and he will probably sign a substantial contract this offseason. Foles also happened to start his magical run last year against the Rams, too, after Wentz went down playing the Rams in Week 14.
If the Eagles win this week, fivethirtyeight.com gives the Eagles a 42% chance of making the Playoffs. With everything coming up Foles, why can’t that happen. Stranger things have happened, like this:
Just when it felt like the Eagles season was over, here comes Nick Foles give us life, to give us hope. Odds are that the Eagles will lose by double-digits, but the Foles-led Eagles beat long odds last year. Can they win it all, Nah. Can Foles lead them into the Playoffs? Maybe, and that’s all we can ask for this Holiday Season. That’s why Foles is just what we needed right now. We got some hope, at least for a few more days.
‘Tis the Season for Ole Saint Nick!