Does Nick Foles deserve to have his number retired by Philadelphia Eagles?

The end of an era

While Wentz was still recovering from the torn ACL and MCL he sustained late in the 2017 season Foles was asked to start the 2018 campaign under center. Foles went 1 – 1 while completing 66 percent of his passes. He threw one touchdown, zero interceptions, and he posted an overall passer rating of 74.8 before Wentz returned.

Fast forward to Week 15 where it appeared to be déjà vu from the 2017 campaign.

Wentz went down again with a season-ending injury and ‘Saint Nick’ was asked to lead the Eagles to the promise land. The only difference the Eagles were on the outside looking in regarding playoff contention.

Foles stepped in and did what he does best, win and set records.

Number 9 rattled off three straight wins to get the Eagles into the playoffs. During that span, Foles completed 77 percent of his passes. He threw six touchdowns, three interceptions and posted a 104 overall passer rating.

In the Week 15 matchup against the Houston Texans, Foles set the franchise record for most pass yards in a single game with 471 yards through the air.

During the final week of the season against the Washington Redskins, Foles achieved a couple of milestones.

By completing 84.9 percent of his passes (28 of 33), Foles broke his own franchise record for single-game completion percentage which he set back in 2013.

Additionally, with 25 consecutive completed passes, Foles broke the franchise record and tied the NFL record. Donovan McNabb held the previous Eagles record with 24 consecutive completions. However, the 24 completions spanned over two games, unlike Foles.

The only other quarterbacks to complete 25 straight passes were Ryan Tannehill and Philip Rivers, but Foles and Rivers did it within the span of one game.

And there is this outrageous stat…

When the season concluded there was speculation surrounding whether or not the Eagles would apply the franchise tag on Foles. They decided not to utilize the tag on Foles ultimately letting him walk to be a free agent.

Well, it didn’t take long for a team to scoop him up. On the first day of free agency, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced they signed Foles to a four-year deal worth $88 million.

Foles finished his Eagles career with a 21 – 11 record while completing nearly 63 percent of his passes, 58 touchdowns, 23 interceptions and a 93.2 overall passer rating. Foles’ 93.2 passer rating ranks best among Eagles quarterbacks in franchise history.

No. 9 will never be viewed the same.

Whether Philadelphia decides to retire the ‘9’ jersey in honor of Nick Foles will not matter to the die-hard Eagles fans. He will still be viewed as one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history and a Philadelphia sports legend.

However, if the Eagles decide to hang his jersey up in the rafters at Lincoln Financial Field, Foles would join a small fraternity consisting of Donovan McNabb, Steve Van Buren, Brian Dawkins, Tom Brookshier, Pete Retzlaff, Chuck Bednarik, Al Wistert, Reggie White, and Jerome Brown. Although the Eagles never officially retired the No. 12 for Randall Cunningham, no one has worn that number since he left the Birds in 1995.

Eagles fans will forever be grateful for what Foles has done for this franchise and the great city of Philadelphia. He will always be remembered for his illustrious career donning the midnight green and being the first quarterback in franchise history to win the Super Bowl.