When you haven’t won a game since the last weekend of September, it’s understandable to get a bit carried away about being ahead on the scoreboard when time runs out.
It’s even more understandable when you get there thanks to the play of your rookie quarterback on the final two drives. Nick Foles was 11-for-17 for 135 yards and two touchdowns on those drives, including the pass to Jeremy Maclin as time expired to secure the 23-21 win for the Eagles. Foles finished with 381 yards and no interceptions, making him the third rookie in history to throw for 380 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a game.
After the game, there was a lot of gushing in the Eagles locker room. Coach Andy Reid said that Foles had the idea for the play that the Eagles ran for the winning touchdown and Jason Avant, who had seven catches for 133 yards, said that a 22-yard completion on fourth down to set up the winner came from a Foles improvisation as opposed to the playbook. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg complimented Foles’ guts and Maclin, who also had more than 100 receiving yards, kept the compliments flowing.
“I think he can be special. His intangibles are off the chart,” Maclin said, via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
One of the other rookie quarterbacks to put up those gaudy numbers was Billy Joe Tolliver (Andrew Luck is the third), so it is probably best to hold off on proclamations about Foles being special for the moment. It’s been a promising start, though, and Foles was fantastic on Sunday so you can’t blame the Eagles for perhaps getting a little ahead of themselves after finally killing the ability to point out that the Phillies had won a game more recently.