Eagles QB Nick Foles rises onto Super Bowl stage
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Philadelphia Eagles’ No. 2 quarterback for the upcoming Super Bowl recently wore a gray backpack over a light gray jacket on a floor predominantly shared with teammates, coaches and hundreds of media members.
He may as well have been in camouflage.
A slow trickle of reporters addressed Nate Sudfeld in the interview hour of Monday’s “Opening Night” ceremony at Xcel Energy Center. Many were familiar with his past career stops, be it college at Indiana or rookie season with the Washington Redskins. A video crew he hadn’t met instructed Sudfeld to read from cue cards, wishing viewers a happy Year of the Dog in Chinese.
The life of a backup.
Nick Foles’ old life.
This ho-hum session could have belonged to Foles leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. Instead, he is center stage — and seemingly comfortable there.
Foles ascended to the forefront following quarterback Carson Wentz’s season-ending knee injury in December, providing the Eagles a lift the Raiders lacked one year earlier when losing quarterback Derek Carr.
The Raiders had no one like Foles in 2016.
There is little sense reliving the past into too great of detail. Carr’s broken fibula that December amid a 12-4 campaign was another time under another coach. That said, Philadelphia has demonstrated with its roster depth how even the most devastating of injuries does not automatically derail a team’s postseason desires.
Foles rose from relative obscurity to preserve the Eagles’ relevance.
“To be in this position is extremely humbling, but at the same time, I know why we’re here,” Foles said. “I’m just a small piece to the puzzle. There’s so many other pieces to the puzzle, and the beautiful thing about this team is we’ve really had to depend on each other throughout the course of the year because of everything that happened. And to be here makes it even more special.”
On Dec. 10, Wentz suffered an ACL tear against the Los Angeles Rams.
It was a brutal development for a quarterback who, like Carr in 2016, drew league MVP consideration prior to his injury. The Raiders first turned to Matt McGloin. He underwhelmed before a shoulder injury. On came rookie Connor Cook, who became the first quarterback in NFL history to make his first career start in a playoff game. A loss.
Both the Raiders and Eagles were jolted upon losing a quarterback.
The difference is the jolt Foles delivered.
In his first start of 2017, he completed 24 of 38 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns Dec. 17 against an albeit meager New York Giants secondary. A win. He struggled the next week against the Raiders on Christmas Day via 19-for-38 passing with 163 yards, one touchdown and a pick. Still, another win. In these playoffs, he is 72 of 96 for 793 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Three more wins.
The Eagles need one more.
“Carson was having an unbelievable year,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “He really, in many respects, put the team and the city on his shoulders. This city had embraced Carson like few others; he really just became the face of the franchise with the year he was having. And then, bam, it’s gone, and it’s like for a week or two, the city just lost its breath. … And Nick never wavered.
“He didn’t waver when he threw four touchdowns against the Giants. He didn’t waver when we really didn’t have that good of an offensive outing against Oakland. … Carson is phenomenal. MVP of the league as far as I’m concerned. But we’re a team. We’re a team.”
Foles would have occupied the shadows this week had the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl with a healthy Wentz. He’d be meeting almost exclusively with reporters from previous stops in his career, such as the Kansas City Chiefs or his college in Arizona. Upon request, he’d speak in Chinese.
Year of the Dog.
Maybe the underdog.
Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.