When quarterback Carson Wentz tore his ACL on Dec. 10, many believed the Eagles’ season was done.
Despite being 11-2 following a 43-35 win over the Rams in Week 14, the Eagles were written off with Nick Foles, 29, at quarterback.
Foles threw four touchdown passes a week later in a 34-29 win over the Giants but struggled over the final two weeks of the regular season — leading many to doubt Philadelphia’s chances in the playoffs.
In their playoff opener, the 13-3 Eagles were the first-ever No. 1 seed to be a home underdog. Foles did not turn the ball over against the Falcons, and the Eagles advanced with a 15-10 victory. They were then home underdogs to the Vikings in the NFC championship game, but Foles was superb with 352 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 38-7 romp.
As the Eagles prepare to face the defending champion Patriots in Super Bowl 52, Foles and his team once again are underdogs.
Nine things you might not have known about the Eagles’ No. 9
1. Foles is the Eagles’ all-time leader in passer rating. He has a 92.7 rating over his four seasons with the Eagles, who list him as the franchise's all-time leading passer (minimum 500 pass attempts — Foles has 994 with the Eagles). Right behind Foles is Wentz, with a rating of 88.8 and 1,047 passes.
2. Foles is the all-time leading passer at the University of Arizona. A three-year starter at Arizona, he threw for 10,011 yards and 67 touchdowns with 33 interceptions. His passing yardage total is 800 more than the second-place quarterback — Willie Tuitama (9,211).
3. Foles began his college career at Michigan State. He played in one game for the Spartans in 2007, his freshman year, going 5 of 8 for 57 yards in a 55-18 win over UAB. Foles was a backup at Michigan State to current Patriots backup Brian Hoyer.
4. Foles went to the same high school as Drew Brees. Not only did he attend the same high school as the current Saints quarterback, but also Foles broke Brees’ passing records at Westlake High in Austin, Texas. Foles threw for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns, surpassing Brees’ marks of 5,461 yards and 50 TDs.
5. Foles was a standout basketball player. He was a three-year starter at Westlake and team MVP twice. He averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds in 2005-06 while earning all-district honors and led the district in rebounding as a sophomore.
6. Foles’ parents hit it big before he did. Larry and Melissa Foles — who founded the Austin-based Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill chain in 1989, the year Nick was born — sold their Eddie V's restaurant chain for $59 million in 2011, the year before Nick was drafted.
7. Foles was the seventh quarterback selected in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Eagles drafted him with the 88th overall pick. The six quarterbacks selected ahead of Foles were Andrew Luck (first overall), Robert Griffin III (second), Ryan Tannehill (eighth), Brandon Weeden (22nd), Brock Osweiler (57th), and Russell Wilson (75th).
8. Foles is more efficient than you think. He has thrown for 9,752 yards and 61 touchdowns with 29 interceptions and has been intercepted multiple times in just six of his 52 career games, including the playoffs (11.5 percent). In comparison, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has thrown multiple interceptions in 45 of his 289 career games, including playoffs (15.5 percent). When Foles threw 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions in 2013, he became the first Eagles quarterback to lead the NFL in passer rating (119.2) since Tommy Thompson in 1949.
9. Foles is one of eight quarterbacks to throw seven TDs in a game. He threw for 406 yards and seven scores in a 49-20 win over the Raiders on Nov. 3, 2013. The other quarterbacks to accomplish the feat: Sid Luckman (1943), Adrian Burk (1954), George Blanda (1961), Y.A. Tittle (1962), Joe Kapp (1969), Peyton Manning (2013) and Brees (2015). Nobody has ever thrown eight TDs in an NFL game.