The MVP of Super Bowl LII may not go to the NFL Hall of Fame, but few quarterbacks will ever match the career of Nick Foles. After announcing his retirement in August, No. 9 returned to Philadelphia to make it official in Week 2.
Drafted in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft as a backup to Michael Vick, Foles passed for 6,753 yards over the next three years as an Eagle. He made his only Pro Bowl appearance in 2013 by averaging a league-high 9.1 yards per pass with 27 touchdowns and two interceptions in only 10 games as a starter.
Of course, throwing seven touchdowns to set an NFL record against the Raiders in Week 9 didn’t hurt, but it didn’t keep the team from trading him to the Rams prior to the 2015 season. After a year with the Rams and another with Kansas City, Foles returned to Philadelphia in 2017, this time as a backup to Carson Wentz.
Wentz was having an MVP season that year but went down with an ACL injury in Week 14 allowing Foles to lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2005. Philly’s backup quarterback threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns against the Patriots that day but will always be remembered for an unexpected catch at the end of the first half.
Leading 15-12 and facing fourth-and-goal from the Patriots’ one-yard line, Foles convinced head coach Doug Pederson to dial up a trick play known as the “Philly Special” that resulted in Foles catching the first and only touchdown pass of his career. Philadelphia would eventually win the game 41-33 as Foles became part of Super Bowl lore.
Foles played just five more games with the Eagles after Super Bowl LII and spent the last four years of his career with the Jaguars, Bears and Colts. Now 35 years old, Foles understands he has nothing left to prove, not that he ever did for most Eagles fans.
