Foles Earns Win In Relief
Having only played a full 16-game season once in his career, and considering the style of football that he plays, a Michael Vick injury was going to happen sooner or later.
Vick, in the midst of a solid first-half performance, injured his hamstring during a run at the end of the second quarter. The veteran tried to continue through the injury, but several plays later it became apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to keep playing.
And so Nick Foles was called upon for his first significant action of the season. The young quarterback entered the game with a 16-7 lead, and began his afternoon by taking the Eagles 75 yards in 1:33 to set up an Alex Henery field goal.
In the second half, the Eagles came out a little flat in the third quarter, and fell behind 21-19. After a couple of three-and-outs for the offense, Foles really shined, guiding the Eagles on three scoring drives (two for touchdowns) to help the the team complete a come-from-behind win.
Foles finished the game completing 16/25 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns. After an interception from Mychal Kendricks, Foles hit Brent Celek for a 25-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 29-21. On the next Eagles’ possession, Foles threw a fade pass in the redzone to DeSean Jackson for his second touchdown of the game.
It was a pretty impressive performance for Foles. Most of his passes for well thrown, and put in positions where only the receivers could get them. The second-year quarterback trusted his guys to make plays, and he played an important role in helping the Eagles pull away from the Giants in the fourth quarter.
Eagles Benefit From Giants’ Mistakes And Dysfunction
The Eagles were helped greatly today by the grand ineptitude of the New York Giants.
The performance by the Giants was just littered with mistakes and incompetence.
The largest example of this came in the third quarter, when Tom Coughlin burning two timeouts on one play. On the previous play, LeSean McCoy had a catch that looked like it might have been an incomplete pass. The Giants couldn’t decide whether or not they wanted to challenge the play, and were forced to use a timeout to stop the Eagles from snapping the ball. Coughlin decided to throw his challenge flag, only to lose and be charged with his second timeout.
New York committed four more turnovers today, giving them a whopping 20 for the season. Three of their turnovers came in the second half, several of them giving Foles and the Eagles a short field with quality scoring opportunities that they were able to take advantage of.
The Giants are a terrible team right now. They’re allowing more than 35 points a game every week, they’re committing a ridiculous amount of turnovers, and they’re not forcing any of their own.
Nitpicking
A win is a win. And anytime you pick up a win, you’ve certainly done something right.
But make no mistake, the Eagles were not without issue.
The offense struggled heavily in the redzone once again. The Eagles were 2/5 in the redzone, forced to settle for field goals on three occasions. Leaving those 12 points on the field made what could have been a 27-7 game at the half turned out to be a 19-7 game, and kept the door open for the Giants to make their run and briefly take back the lead in the second half.
I thought Chip Kelly did a questionable job managing the game in the second half. Kelly’s playcalling became too heavily skewed towards the pass, with the Eagles at one point passing on 14 of 15 plays. The Eagles were facing a Giants’ run defense ranked 28th against the run, and with your backup quarterback in the game, I thought Kelly leaned on Foles way too much. Now, Foles did a great job succeeding in doing everything that Kelly asked him to do, so perhaps the point becomes moot, but it was still an element of the coaching that I’d question.
I also don’t understand why the coaches didn’t have DeSean Jackson back to return punts while the game was close. This was a tightly contested game through three quarters, and given Jackson’s explosive history against the Giants, and given the weaknesses in the Giants coverage units, I thought the Eagles could have tried to put Jackson back there for an extra boost.
Quick Thoughts
Offense
- Before going down with the hamstring injury, Michael Vick was playing a pretty nice game. Vick threw for 104 yards in the second quarter, and also ran for 79 yards. The veteran kept several drives alive with his legs, including a 34-yard run on a third and 19 that set up the first field goal of the day.
- DeSean Jackson didn’t start strong, beginning with a costly drop on third and 12 of the opening drive. Jackson shied away from contact, and allowed the ball to go through his hands. But the wideout finished with a solid performance, hauling in seven passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.
- The offensive line turned in another up-and-down performance. The line did a poor job run blocking for LeSean McCoy, and also committed a handful of penalties once again. But they did a fine job protecting Nick Foles in the second half, giving the quarterback time to make his throws.
- Nice game for Brent Celek, who caught three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Celek needed a good performance after struggling over the last few weeks.
- Zach Ertz was used sparingly again, but the rookie set up a goalline opportunity, catching a pass on a corner route from Vick for 24 yards.
- No sign of $4 million dollar man James Casey once again.
Defense
- The defense played some more 4-3, with Connor Barwin and Trent Cole as defensive ends, Brandon Boykin outside linebacker
- Bradley Fletcher was targeted by Manning on the first drive. Fletcher was burned by both Ruben Randle and Hakeem Nicks. Randle dropped his pass, but Manning went right back to the same spot and was able to connect with Nicks on a big strike to give the Giants a redzone opportunity.
- The Eagles couldn’t stop Hakeem Nicks and Ruben Randle today. Nicks caught nine passes for 142 yards. Randle had six grabs for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
- Cedric Thornton made a stop on David Wilson at the end of the first quarter that could have been called for a safety.
- Brandon Boykin made a great interception in the fourth quarter, pulling the ball away from Victor Cruz as he dove to the ground. Boykin held Cruz to just five catches for 48 yards.
- Cary Williams made his second interception of the season.
- Mychal Kendricks made an interception on a terrible pass that Eli Manning threw up for grabs in the second half. Kendricks also recovered Brandon Jacobs’ fumble.
- We had an Isaac Sopoaga sighting in the fourth quarter, as the former 49er could be seen stuffing Brandon Jacobs for a loss.
- Bennie Logan picked up a sack in garbage time.
Special Teams
- Alex Henery connected on all five of his field goal attempts today. Henery had missed kicks in three straight games, and it was encouraging to see him have a game like this.
- Brandon Boykin downed several punts from Donnie Jones inside the New York 5-yard line.
Final Thoughts
The Eagles did what they had to do today.
They were matched up with a bad team that they had to beat, and they were able to come away with a win. They took advantage of the mistakes made by the Giants, and helped their own cause by not committing mistakes of their own.
It wasn’t a perfect performance, and there’s still a lot that this team needs to work on and correct int he coming weeks. But this was a game that the Eagles had to have, and they’ve now got a very real opportunity to build some momentum and go on a run.
What happens at the quarterback position?
Its Michael Vick’s job. Plain and simple. Vick has played very well for the most part through five games, and its absurd to think that the Eagles would in any way consider making a change after seeing Foles play well for one half.
Foles was great today, but keep in mind he also had the benefit of facing a defense that hadn’t been preparing for him during the week, and a defense that was already allowing over 35 points a game to quarterbacks that they had actually been preparing for.
The team can leave New York feeling much more confident about their backup quarterback, they can leave feeling good about snapping their three-game losing streak, and they can feel good about a very favorable matchup against another dysfunctional organization next week, the 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Denny Basens in the editor of GCobb.com. Email him at dbasens@ycp.edu, or follow him on Twitter.
Denny, how bout throwing just a little bit more credit to the D? you keep saying the Giants mistakes, like we didn’t have anything to do with those ints. Do you know this was our third game of over 30 points this year? We had only one all last year. A win is a win regardless of who we played, before today’s game, KC played against teams with a combined 3-11 record yet everyone is praising Andy. I will agree with you about the play calling though with Foles, too much passing to start the second half.
Haha, Andrew if you want someone who’s going to be Mr.Sunshine 100% of the time when it comes to the Eagles, I highly recommend Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
I mean, honestly, I don’t know what else you want me to say about them. They were opportunistic. They had to be. They did well to make plays when the opportunities were presented to them…and that’s basically what I said above.
Being opportunistic and taking advantage of turnover opportunities is their “little bit of credit”.
But at the end of the day…they still got torched by Hakeem Nicks and Ruben Randle on a day where a team that already doesn’t run the ball well lost their top running back to an injury…those guys were open all day, and the Eagles stopped a running attack that features a running back who has been over the hill for three years that Giants signed off of the couch a couple of weeks ago.
When the Giants were on top of their game, they had plays open to them on slant routes all day. They were ok today. But if you’re living in reality, you know how bad this defense is and can be on a week-to-week basis…and had they been playing a slightly more competent/polished offense, they could have lost this game and those opportunities for turnovers wouldn’t be there like they were today thanks to the courtesy of the giants. What they did today was nothing unique or special…the Giants have been serving turnovers up on a silver platter to every team they’ve faced.
Denny, as much of a die hard as I am im also a realist, our D gives me nightmares lol, Allen still starting tells me how bad our backups are! I seen him all game being a step behind on every play, it’s just sickening to watch! I read today the Bills are open to trading Byrd, I would give a third or fourth for him right now and pick him up at the airport personally. We need something done ASAP!
I agree ap, but we screwed the pooch in the off-season. Now you know why. I’ve been so down on this roster of garbage signings. I’d go pickup Byrd, & drive him back from Buffalo, if they made a trade. Kary Rhodes is still out there. DeShawn Stead is still on Seattles practice squad, too, waiting to be snatched.
Dave the brown nose. Looking for love in all the wrong places..
Andrew probably because our D was going against Mr. poor decision/turnover machine Eli. If one more national announcer mentions the giants oline play after -yet again- poor decision, poor throws; holding the ball too long by Eli my head will explode. The Eagles pressure really wasn’t that good today. We were helped because the qb charged with making good throws and decisions couldn’t. We very well could have lost this game if facing better qb play.
Our defense was adequate ,to be real here ,the giants dropped some balls and looked ,as if they’d seized hold of the game and then Eli’s coming ….proving it ain’t in the genes…were 1-1 vs the brothers Eli …and who’s your daddy Peyton…most prophetic ,last week I felt Vick was due to be hurt and I felt foles fit this team …he has a feel for the whole field …the offensive lineman feel they know where he’s at ..he’s huge ,literally standing and seeing things that sometimes are obscured. We need coach ,to integrate shady ,without a qb threat that mike brings…actually integrating both of the qbs sets up matchup fits for any defense ..just sayin…nice win ,right the ship and spank blue when they comg into philly ..
Chip doesn’t need to change anything in regards to qb status. Only in this town do people SEARCH for shit wrong when the qb’s name is Lucifer; oops I mean Vick. Foles did what a good back up should. Make plays when opportunity presents and not hurt your team. He took advantage of opportunistic turnovers and didn’t hurt his team. Both he and Mike Vick upheld the integrity of the position well. What the qb on the opposing team did is exhibit “A” of costing your team an opportunity to win.
Maybe we should be thanking the high heavens we seem to have qb that isn’t at the top of the league in poor decisions and turnovers.
He also made throws for touchdowns that 7 doesn’t have in his arsenal
Good write up Denny.
Spot on on all points.
Thank you!
Vick (4 1/4 games)
71 of 134 (53%) for 1185 yrds 5 tds 2 ints
Foles (3/4 of a game)
19 of 30 (63%) for 246 yrds 3 tds n 0 ints
Why are we still taking about this?
Because Vick can run fast?????????????????????????
So Foles plays one half and a bit of a game…where he wss spotted 16 points…promptly lost the lead ’cause he couldn’t move the ball in the third and then thanks to 3 interceptions and an amazing catch by Celek wins…and that tells you you should sit your starter?
Right
Mike Vick had 0….that’s right, ZERO completions in the first quarter. He threw deep for Desean 3x (even though that’s Andy Reid’s fault) because that’s all he knows how to do.
Thank god for the Vickpologists he hit that one 70 yrd bomb to Desean (as he is occasionally apt to do), because if he hadn’t, it would be a little harder to keep rolling with the “Vick played GREAT” bullshit.
LOL!!! Calm down vinnietheWelcher… I’ve checked out the Giants schedule and you and your team are due for a W… just not today. Yeah… Vick had a rough day today (all QB’s do at some point by the way), it’s just that your teams QB, Eli Manning, had a worse one. Foles did a great job in relief even if the run game was noticeably worse with him at the helm. I also want to give a special shout out to Eli for predictably breaking down when the pressure is on and showing that if he can’t get his WR’s to come down with one of those trademark desperation heaves of his… he can’t win (I wonder if he’ll be watching football on his phone later tonight???). Although I do admire how his WRs catch with their hands and not their bodies.
One last question Giants fan: WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE??? DIDN’T YOU LOSE A BET??? Oh and yeah… I thought your posts were going to be trailing off because you were going to Europe or something… LOL!!! Giants Fans are soooo pathetic. Take your loss like a man and go back to coaching those 13 and 14 year old girls you bragged about..
I am not coaching those 13/14 year old girls because I am in Scotland and coaching rugby this year.
“all QBs do at some point” Does “some point” include about 1/2 of the games he’s played so far???
Your hero is fading fast. Must be difficult for you, not knowing which new team you should order your next “Vick 7” NFL Jersey from in order to be ready for next year. I would suggest pre-ordering the Winnipeg Blue Bombers…that’s your/his best option.
was also 6 for 8 in the 2nd if I’m correct….moved the ball in the 1st qtr even without completing passes if I recall….no other QB in NFL history has started the game slow?
Back to the Denver game….hmmm….Dallas D can’t stop Denver either (not many can), but at least their O can score 41 to make the game interesting.
What did the Eagles score with Vick at the helm again?? 13? 13 is good in the NFL isn’t it???
Yeah..cause Foles would have lit up the Denver D. He would have made all those receivers get open and catch the ball…and the OL wouldn’t have made those penalties.
I’m sure Shady would have had a banner game as well just like he did this game with Foles in.
Running game will still work with Foles but you change the presentation a little. If you want 0 completions in a quarter from a 12 year vet then magically balls start getting to open recievers…hmmm…
Vick has shown signs of giving up his role —
game 1 — limped off field
game 2 — Foles was on the field for one play
game 3 — Foles was warming up because Vick had to be taken off the field by medical staff but instant replay reversed a knee down field call to a Vick fumble turnover which lead to a KC running out game clock
game 4 — Foles replaced Vick because he was losing by 30 points
game 5 — Vick’s weak fragile body finally gave out ( after 17 quarters)
I have no idea how anyone would rather watch 7 play than 9. There is Hope that maybe we have something in 9. In 7 there is only how long is he keeping the spot warm for someone else.
Go with Foles, just the SpEk that the entire Team and Franchise needs right now Instead of the same old, same old with Vick and to be brutally honest, what do the Eagłes and Chip Jelkybin particular gave to lose by playing Foles who h is what I have been screaming about since January..
This Team/Franchise needs a new leader on the field and why not Fokes,
If he doesn’t prove holim self over the next 10-11 games, then zdeaft a QB early next Draft..
Evan Turner dominates putting up 25 points as he takes the leadership role of this team. 76ers win a big game against Bilbao Basket of Spain
Hopefully the Eagles had their “Bart Scott Moment” tonight.
Chip Kelly in his post game conference named Vick starter next week – but Vick will undergo a MRI tomorrow
Tampa next Week – W
Dallas- Close game at home but a W
NYG in Philly – W
Oakland- W
I see us going 6-3 the next several games. 5-4 at least. GB will be a lost, along with a WASH win the week after. That will put us at 7-4 going into the bye.
We will finish 9-7 like I predicted winning the tie breaker against Dal to get into the playoffs. People keep saying Chip isn’t revolutionzing our team. Were the top rushing team in the league, along with number 2 in total offense. Could u imagine if we had Maclin? We have the most plays of 20 plus yards, if we could only score in the redzone and not beat ourselves we would be 4-1 with wins against SD, and the overrated Chiefs.
Wait until Chip gets his defensive unit together. I personally like Billy Davis, who is doing the best with what he has by far. I know WASH put up 26 points, but for the most part our D played a solid game. They played great against KC, the offense lost that game for us, and our D bullied a terrible mistake prone giant team like we should.. Nate Allen needs to gtfo though.
Sorry CT but as much as I hate the thought I think Dalla will handle this eagles defense and take both games. I also still do not see 9-7. The birds if the steal one from the Cowboays maybe can win the division at 7-9. I would rather get the better draft pick.
WE ARE REBUILDING!!!!
I think we can go 10-6 11-5 the schedule is not that tough they should lose again til they play the packers and if they can split with cowgirls and sweep the giants and the dead skins and go 2-2 vs the NFC north they can go 10-6 must win against the cards raiders and bucs for this to come true
We beat an epically bad team, & you think we’re now going to win 10, 11 games? Come on man! WTF is wrong with you. Call it down a bit. WTF! SMH!!!!
Great win today for the birds. It took vick, foles, the d and the special teams unit to win this game.
Vick made plays with his legs and struggled to find open wrs. But… he moved the ball with the run game. Foles came in and took what they gave him. He used underneath routes to move the ball down for the fieldgoal before the half.
In the second half he struggled early but moved the ball well after receiving a short field a few times. That by no means is a slam. Foles did a solid job today and we will for sure be seeing him next time 7 goes down. If he was named starter… i would be the biggest foles fan ever. But i dont see that happening.
The d played rather well today. The cbs are getting better.. the safetys are not.
That said… we played he giants today. They have the worrrst D. We have the second worst. Great heart today tho… with this team… they need to win when we get 30. Today we did.
Btw- both td passes were great!
This was a team win if ever there was one.
I’ll take it.
why was Mike Vick wearing a ski hat in 80 degree weather after getting pulled for the 2nd consecutive game ?
Fellas, Mike Vick is #1 QB because Howie Roseman wants him…Chip works for Roseman…Foles is better, right now.
Defense was much better today, but the Giants were pitiful.
Tony Romeo throws for 500 YARDS, then coughs it up again.
Interesting day for the fans.
I’m starting to believe in conspiracies with Vick. Why would you not play Foles? It doesn’t make any sense after watching that endzone pass to Desean. It looked like, dare I say, Tom Brady
You are about two, three years too late on the conspiracy theory, first put out there by big jake, it gies back to Lurie
C’mon Chip Watch the Game film…Then find a way for Vicks hammy to hurt for a long long time!!!
**NFL News***
Vikings sign Free-Agent, Recently released QB Josh Freeman
Of the TB Bucs..
Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Bucs and Buffalo Bills & Tennessee still
Need QB Depth with their QB Positions..
Hey Denny, how did your surprise team the Chargers look last night against the lowly Raiders? Rivers had 3 ints, I thought the coach who has his team better prepared then Chip had that all figured out?
Raiders are actually playing pretty well and will beat the Eagles up at their place when the Eagles go out to Oakland here in a couple weeks..
That wasn’t the point, Denny wrote an article saying how good the Chargers are playing and how the coach has done a great job with Rivers.
They had a bad night, and Rivers reverted a little bit……a fumble from Danny Woodhead that was run back for a score proved to be difference in the game, if not for that swing, maybe things go a little differently. but I still really like what McCoy has done with San Diego with very little talent in the first five weeks…he had only 2 ints and 11 touchdowns through the first four games…look at the bigger picture andrew.
From any rational perspective, resigning Vick was a bad move, although preordained and good from lurie’s vantage, who signed him initially for profits, but unequivocally disastrous from a pure football perspective
You would think Kelly would know better; he may, but his hands were tied in this dirty deal to get out of Oregon amidst pending sanctions: Mr. Kelly, hold a bogus open qb competition, then proclaim this enigma of a quarterback your starter, we are aware of his limitations on the field but he’s the golden egg to the nfl on a macro level but even more so on the micro, given the intense, local following he particularly had in this city .
The operative word is had, because by noticeable percentages this mirage of a quarterback is losing support even amongst his strident supporters, the money grabbers’ nostrils smell a change in the air, Vick is on his way out, not because of his poor quarterbacking abilities , which has been present from the beginning, but the tide of change dictated by economics
“From any rational perspective, resigning Vick was a bad move, although preordained and good from lurie’s vantage, who signed him initially for profits, but unequivocally disastrous from a pure football perspective”
The conspiracies you people come up with. Ya’ll seriously act like Vick stole your lucn money, your bike and slept with your girl.
Pathetic and oddly amusing at the same time.
It was a bad signing, always was when you consider his performance before even signing with the eagles in 2009, he was always an enigma, a coach killer as he has been described, but he’s great for business, that’s Lurie, he loves business over winning
TS don’t bother your responses all day have been on point and rational, I refuse to be dragged into ridiculous arguments with irrational so called fans and a dude who shouldn’t even be on this site. For the life of me I don’t understand how they root for a team and hate half the guys on the team. Just read the comments it’s not just Vick.
Hey TS, you are okay with me, but the eagles are pure entertainment to me not the focus of my life , they are more entertaining as a social economic phenomenon, although I do get dragged back in with a big win, peace sexy
As I stated in the summer Vick’s biggest enemy would be injuries. Kelly was doing a good job of play calling Running with Vick and Shady and using a controlled passing game. Once Vick went out the running lanes were closed and NY came back putting pressure on Foles. Great adjustment by Kelly realizing his best chance to win was to let Foles throw the ball against a bad defense that had not been game planning against an air it out attack. Great job by Foles making the safe throws until he felt comfortable enough to go down field. Most games you are not spotted the points but its his job as the back up to come in and be effective regardless and he did that.
That game could have easily been lost had the defense not finally stepped up and made a play, those plays were missing all year.
Hopefully Foles can pick up where he left of against Tampa with a much better secondary. Kelly needs to get creative when trying to run the ball now that Foles is in those shotgun runs are not as effective.
How about them Chargers Denney? They sure are the shinning example of how to kick start a new era
Was awesome to see foles draw tb offside in a crucial situation on 4th & inches. Mike never drew someone offsides his whole careeer