The Philadelphia Eagles have captured the hearts of their followers … and the imaginations of Chicago Bears fans dreaming on their team following the blueprint laid out by the NFC’s top team.
Unfortunately, a brutal injury to star quarterback Carson Wentz has thrown a curveball into the situation. Wentz suffered a torn ACL in the team’s 43-35 win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Prior to leaving the game with an injury, Wentz threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns – including one after he suffered the torn ACL. Philadelphia will now turn to Nick Foles to take Wentz’s place in the lineup.
You might remember Foles as the quarterback who flawlessly ran Chip Kelly’s system in 2013. Foles was a Pro Bowl quarterback in his age 24 season as he led the Eagles to an 8-2 record, throwing 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions. The University of Arizona product led the NFL in touchdown percentage (8.5), yards per attempt (9.1), yards per completion (14.2), and quarterback rating (119.2) … all while sporting a minute 0.6 percent interception rate. All things considered, the Eagles could do worse as far as backup signal callers are concerned.
As for some big-picture stuff, I’ll be curious to see how Philadelphia’s offense looks down the stretch. The Eagles will close the season with games against the New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys. Not quite Murderer’s Row when it comes to secondary play. Not only should it allow Foles ample time to get into a groove with an offense that ranks first in points and third in total yards, it could help boost the coaching stocks of Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich and/or Quarterbacks Coach John DeFilippo.
We’ve discussed the Philadelphia blueprint with regards to the Bears and explored the idea of the team having already seen its future head coach a few weeks back. If the Eagles can piece together some more solid offensive outings in the season’s final three weeks, it can only help make those coaching candidates look even more attractive.