With Nick Foles just a few short days away from no longer being a Philadelphia Eagle, we take a look back at the top nine plays that #9 made in an Eagles jersey.
Honorable mention: game-winning touchdown as time expires vs Buccaneers (2012)
If you have OCD and need to have a list be top 10, this would be play #10. In his rookie year of 2012, the Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention. Nick Foles had the last few weeks of the season to show what he was made of. Against the Buccaneers he had a breakout game, and lead a game-winning drive for his first and only win of the season. On the final play of the game, the Eagles were down by five and needed a touchdown. Andy Reid called a rollout to the right side of the field, where Nick Foles found Jeremy Maclin in the front corner of the endzone. Foles threw it down low where only Maclin could get it, and Maclin slide on his knees to secure the catch. This game showed that Nick Foles could ball a little bit, and preluded to his ability to keep calm in pressure situations.
9. Pass to Alshon Jeffery vs Texans (2018)
To kick off the list, we're diving right into the Nick Foles magic that came to fruition at the end of the 2018 season. The Eagles had just choked away a two possession lead in a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Eagles offense had to start with the ball deep in their own territory. They were in some trouble with a 3rd-and-10 facing them, but Nick Foles stayed in the pocket and absorbed a huge hit to the chest from Jadeveon Clowney while tossing a pass that only Alshon Jeffery could leap up to grab. It was a 15 yard completion, and the roughing-the-passer penalty allowed the Eagles to approach midfield. Foles had to miss the next play due to NFL rules since he was laying injured on the field. When he jogged back onto the field on 2nd down, Lincoln Financial Field erupted and gave Foles and the rest of the team the energy needed for them to get into field-goal range and run the clock down and secure a victory.
8. Nick Foles bomb to Alshon Jeffery vs Rams (2018)
Another play where Nick Foles showed the world that his cojones matched his phallic nickname. On this play, Ndamukong Suh had Foles dead to rights. Suh came at Foles full speed, but Foles did not care - he kept looking down field and saw Nelson Agholor and Alshon Jeffery wide open. So Foles threw a perfect deep ball and took a shot to the chest from a 300lb beast, and Jeffery was able to grab the ball and get the Eagles into the redzone.
7. "Philly Philly" vs Falcons (2018)
Remember the first game of the 2018 season and have to wait a little bit longer to see the Eagles Super Bowl banner? Well football fans had to wait even longer to see some exciting football. When the game got underway, it was a snooze-fest for the entire first-half. In the 3rd-Quarter though, Doug Pederson and Nick Foles it was time to wake everyone up, and pay homage to their favorite trick play. Corey Clement pitched to Nelson Agholor (playing the role of Trey Burton) and Agholor threw a beautiful rainbow pass to Nick Foles to pick up the first-down. That play put Lincoln Financial Field into a frenzy, and that energy kept up through the rest of the drive, which resulted in the first touchdown of the game. If that play isn't called the Eagles might lose that game and end up missing the playoffs by one game in 2018.
6. Long Touchdown to Nelson Agholor vs Texans (2018)
Nick Foles went full beast-mode against the Texans last season. He was feeling unstoppable, and late in the 3rd-Quarter of a tied-game, Foles launched the definition of a BOMB to Nelson Agholor deep downfield. A perfectly placed ball allowed Agholor to catch the pass and beat Tyrann Mathieu and walk into the endzone. If that pass if a centimeter shorter, Mathieu would have gotten a hand on it. If it was any further, Agholor might have fallen off-balance and might not have taken the play to the house.
5. Flea-flicker to Torrey Smith in NFC Championship Game
Remember the time the Eagles were up by 17 in the NFC Championship Game and Doug Pederson just virtually flipped the state of Minnesota the bird and called a flea-flicker? LOL still can't believe that really happened. Corey Clement carried the ball, tossed it back to Nick Foles who found Torrey Smith in the corner of the endzone. The ball was placed in a great spot by Foles, as Smith didn't really have to slow down to speed up to track it. That was the play when the city of Philadelphia realized that the Eagles were going to the Super Bowl.
4. Touchdown to Golden Tate vs Bears (2019)
The Eagles were sitting pretty in the 2019 Wild Card Playoff game versus Chicago. They were trailing but had the ball and the offense was finally rolling. They got the ball inside the 10-yard-line, but all of a sudden they stalled. It quickly became 4th-and-goal for the Birds, but Nick Foles kept his trademark cool, and rolled out the his right and found Golden Tate running across the goal-line. He aimed the ball right passed the outstretched arms of Leonard Floyd, and connected with Tate for the go-ahead touchdown. That was when we knew Foles' magic was still working.
3. Touchdown to Alshon Jeffery in Super Bowl LII
If I were to say 3 years ago that Nick Foles would be would be under center for the Eagles facing Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, everyone (myself included) would have laughed. That's exactly what happened though, and the city of Philadelphia's hopes and dreams laid on his shoulders. Foles couldn't have been less phased by that though, as he went into Super Bowl LII thinking it was just another regular game. Foles was having a decent start to the game, and towards the end of the 1st Quarter on a 1st-and-10 inside Patriots territory, Foles decided to give the long ball a try for the hell of it. On play action, Foles threw a missile to Alshon Jeffery towards the back of the endzone. The throw ended up being in a spot only Jeffery could grab it, and Jeffery leaped up high to snag the ball and land just inside the endzone. That was when we knew the Eagles weren't going to be pushovers in this game.
2. Touchdown Throw to Corey Clement in Super Bowl LII
With the Eagles only holding a three-point lead over the Patriots, everyone knew the Birds needed a touchdown to keep the pace. Settling for field goals was not gonna allow the Eagles to leave Super Bowl LII victorious. On a 3rd-and-6 in Patriots territory in the middle of the 3rd Quarter, Corey Clement started in the backfield and made a beeline for the endzone. Clement faced double coverage initially but beat the coverage deep (it became triple coverage by the time the ball got there). Foles had the narrowest of windows to fit the ball, but he put it exactly where it needed to be. Clement caught the ball and just barely got his two feet in for the touchdown. This is the greatest throw of Nick Foles' career.
1. "Philly Special" in Super Bowl LII
Well....duh. There's no list that can exist of Nick Foles' top plays without the Philly Special being #1. First of all it was Foles' play call - he had the guts to tell Doug Pederson this is the play he thought was best in the situation and Pederson agreed. Now Foles is the first player ever to both throw for and catch a touchdown in one Super Bowl. When people across the nation hear the name Nick Foles, the very first thing they will think of is this play. Foles even got a statue of himself dedicated to him from this play that now resides inside Lincoln Financial Field. This will be a play that Eagles fans will be watching and telling their grandkids for the rest of eternity.
A final thank you to Nicholas Edward Foles on helping bring something to Philadelphia that Eagles fans dreamt of for decades - the Lombardi Trophy. You will never be forgotten in this region, your name will be mentioned here for the rest of time.
