Flashback Friday: Nick Foles and the Eagles squeak by the Giants in week 15
After clinching the NFC East one week earlier, the Philadelphia Eagles were looking to clinch a first-round bye with a win against the New York Giants.
It didn’t seem as though Week 14 treated the Philadelphia Eagles kindly. Sure, they won the game, but they lost their starting quarterback Carson Wentz to a season-ending ACL and LCL injury.
With Wentz now on the Injured Reserve list, it would be his backup, Nick Foles, taking the reigns.
Foles came on in relief of Wentz when he went down late in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Rams game. Foles was solid, but he would need to be better than solid if the Eagles wanted to have any chance of beating their rivals, the New York Giants.
The last time these two teams faced off, it was a nail-biter. Week 15 would treat fans to the same type of ballgame.
Nick Foles does his best Carson Wentz impression.
Foles is a completely different style of quarterback than Wentz is, but he sure did put on a Wentz-esque performance.
The previous week didn’t see a single touchdown pass thrown by Foles. Week 15 saw four touchdown passes thrown by ‘Number 9’
He’d finish the game with 237 yards and four total touchdowns.
Two of his most memorable touchdowns came in the second quarter, when he led the Eagles to back-to-back scoring drives. ‘The Birds’ had been trailing for most of the ball game, but two touchdown passes helped Philly take the lead, 21-20.
Eli Manning was good. But not quite good enough.
The Philadelphia Eagles had their hands full with the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Eli Manning. He threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw an interception which led to an Eagles’ touchdown drive.
The Philadelphia Eagles clinch a first-round bye.
When the game started, it looked as though the Giants were gonna walk all over Philly, but Foles and ‘The Birds’ had something else in mind.
After taking the lead in the second quarter, Philly never looked back. They held the lead for most of the game, and they only relinquished it once, at the end of the first half. They led the entire second half.
The Giants stayed close behind and kept Eagles’ fans on the edge of their seats, but in the end, it would be the guys in white and green who prevailed.
The win helped clinch a first-round bye for Philly and earn them their 12th win of the season. ‘The Birds’ record was stretched to 12-2, making them 6-2 on the road.
Check out the highlights from week 15.
Video courtesy of the NFL’s YouTube page
Here’s a look at the stats.
Philadelphia
Passing: Nick Foles (QB): 24-38, 237 YDS, 4 TD
Rushing: Jay Ajayi (RB): 12 CAR, 49 YDS
Receiving: Nelson Agholor (WR): 7 REC, 59 YDS, 1 TD
New York
Passing: Eli Manning (QB): 37-57, 434 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Wayne Gallman (RB): 8 CAR, 39 YDS
Receiving: Sterling Shepard (WR): 11 REC, 139 YDS, 1 TD