Nick Foles is not Carson Wentz for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he continues to win



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PHILADELPHIA – Nick Foles has a lot of things for a lot of people – a championship quarterback, a Super Bowl MVP, a good underdog, and a successful author. But his near future could be defined by one thing that he is certainly not:

Carson Wentz.

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Wentz is a thoroughbred, a sports marvel already identified as LeBron James' favorite NFL player. Before jumping out of the knee in December, Wentz looked set to bring the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl title they had won with Foles, widely considered a one-lap pony that would remain in place, under center, until what Wentz is ready. go.

And Thursday night's 18-12 win over Atlanta at Lincoln Financial Field did not discourage anyone. The Foles have won ugly – really, really ugly – completing 19 of 34 assists for a bad 117 yards and no touchdown pass, carrying his disappointing pre-season in the opening game of the regular season.

But the Foles have won. He survived $ 150 million local player Matt Ryan and the team that should have beaten the Super Bowl New England Patriots and the team that did it. In fact, even after Wentz gets the go-ahead from his doctors, the Foles should continue to take the Eagles' lead until he proves that he can not go over regularly anymore. opposing.

Until you know it, he loses two out of three.

Nick Foles completed 19 of his 34 passes for just 117 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Photo of James Lang / USA TODAY Sports

Assuming good health, Wentz will be an awesome force in the NFL; from that there is little doubt. Foles? There is not much to watch and he is the ultimate streak shooter. His highs are ridiculously high and his stockings are ridiculously low, and at one point, his physical limitations will make it obvious that the ball must be in Wentz's hands.

The Eagles must ride the Foles to this point. He won as much, anyway, after turning on Minnesota in the NFC championship game before doing the same thing at the Patriots in Minneapolis, sending the all-time sports coach (Bill Belichick) and quarterback (Tom Brady) in a dead season that both would prefer to forget.

Philadelphia honored its Super Bowl LII conquest on Thursday night with a delayed pre-game ceremony at the Linc, and a tough Patriots blow in the third quarter, when Eagles coach Doug Pederson claimed "Philly Philly," the fourth and third The goal round punctuated by the Foles' strike against New England at the Super Bowl – with a touch. This time, Pederson did not request that the slam be sent directly to bearer Corey Clement, but to Foles himself, who gave the ball to Clement before the running back to Nelson Agholor . The catcher kicked a third shot at the Foles near the sideline, mirroring the Super Bowl game. New England ran when Danny Amendola launched a wide Brady.

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Philadelphia bursts his famous touchdown Super Bowl LII, while WR Nelson Agholor throws quarterback Nick Foles a gain of 15 yards.

"That's where we got it," said Pederson about the Patriots game.

With one difference, the Eagles coach said. "They were in 11 staff members [three wide receivers], and we were in 12 (two tight ends). "

In fact, make two differences. Brady dropped the ball and Foles did not do it.

"Honestly," said Foles about Pederson and the room, "we both thought at the same time, I went there to tell him it could be a good time and he showed the sheet of Call it and it was as if it was what I was coming in. So it worked again.

"I like to have games like this, our team loves it, I mean, everyone loves a good game of tricks."

At least, the turn plays this job. Jay Ajayi scored the first touchdown at the end of the race, then scored again in the final minutes before the Philly defense made the same stop as Atlanta and Ryan to win their playoff game last winter. The truth is that the Eagles survived more than they had advanced. They did not win a single offensive ground in the first quarter, the worst start for an NFL offense in 13 years. Pederson said the game was decided by his offensive and defensive lines, but in reality, it was probably decided by the resistance of the Eagles.

They are clearly better than the Falcons for closing tight games like these, and Foles is the main reason. The quarterback and the part-time receiver are 6-1 under Pederson. Foles became the first winning starter to pitch at least 30 times with an average of yards per attempt as low as his (3.44) since Josh McCown was successful for the 2005 Cardinals, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

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Doug Pederson explains why the Eagles called "Philly Philly" and from where they got it.

But he caught a pass as he caught in the Super Bowl, a pass that Brady dropped, to give the Eagles a spark.

"I was just looking for a great game," Pederson said. "I just felt it was the right time to make that call."

Pederson will also know when to call Wentz. It will be a challenge among the many that he will have to meet in his attempt to make Philly the first repeat champion since the 2003-04 Patriots, which were led by a coach so moved by his 2001 team not to repeat that he wrote an article of opinion in the New York Times about the burden of trying to go back.

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"Remember," wrote Belichick to the next Super Bowl champion, "the Smart Coach / Moron Coach Meter, which is currently far from the charts in the right direction, can be very moody."

Pederson will know when this meter is pointing to the use of its franchise reader. The Foles will look like the guy who retired in 2016, the Eagles will be the losers of two of their last three years and Wentz will be light and confident.

But until then, Pederson should give the Foles a chance to see if there is still some opportunistic magic in his right arm. There is no point in precipitating the transition. Philly should stick to "Philly Philly" and the bestselling author who could still have a chapter or two to write.

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