It would be easy to be swamped by the enormity of what he’s already done, and what lies ahead of him.
But Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is trying to keep an even keel, as impossible as that may seem.
“The big thing is just staying in the moment,” Foles said, via Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “In the moment. The second you start looking at everything that’s going to happen in the next two weeks? It can be overwhelming for anyone.”
That’s easy for him to say, all he’s done is take over for an injured MVP and lead a team he used to quarterback to a game they couldn’t make when he was the starter, with some life as a journeyman backup in between. Actually, it’s not easy at all. And Foles admitted he’s leaning on the people around him to get through it.
“This is a big moment,” he said. “It’s the Super Bowl. It’s something you dream about as a kid. But at the same time, it’s a game. Once I step on the gridiron, I’m playing against the Patriots and that’s where it comes down to trusting your preparation, working every single day and living in that moment and doing what you have to do daily, and then once the game comes you know you did everything in your power.
“You’ve eliminated the distractions that are there because there’s going to be. This is a big stage. There’s a lot going on. This [interview] room just keeps increasing with cameras and people in it and it’s just going to keep going. So you just focus on the little things and what’s important, and what’s important is our preparation and what we do as a team. Going out there and playing together Super Bowl night, that’s really what my focus is.”
Foles is already one of the best stories in the NFL at the moment, and the attention is just going to ramp up next week when he lands in Minneapolis. But he has a few days to get through between now and then, and he’s going to approach them one day at a time.