On the hot seat: Eagles quarterback Nick Foles
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who is 4-1 as a starter this season, will be on the hot seat in the Super Bowl at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Foles took over after Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Rams on Dec. 10.
He guided the Eagles to victories over the Falcons (15-10) in the divisional round and the Vikings (38-7) in the NFC Championship game.
In the playoff wins, he completed 77.8 percent of his passes for three touchdowns and threw no interceptions.
Foles committed to Arizona State, but when Dirk Koetter was fired, Foles elected to start his college career at Michigan State. He transferred after a year to Arizona. He played three seasons for the Wildcats before he was drafted in the third round by the Eagles in 2012.
In the infamous Chip Kelly purge after the 2014 season, Foles was traded to the Rams in a deal that included Sam Bradford. He played there a season and considered retiring before he resurfaced with Kansas City.
After a year with the Chiefs, he re-signed with the Eagles.
“He’s done a great job,” Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. “He’s stepped in for an MVP candidate. That’s pretty tough to do.”
Against the Falcons, the Eagles leaned heavily on their rushing attack. Against the Vikings, Foles, who’s basically considered a short to intermediate-range passing threat, connected on several deep throws down the field.
“He’s done a really good job commanding the offense,” Van Noy said. “Gaining confidence. He’s a very rhythmic quarterback, and you can tell his confidence is very high right now.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
