Wake-Up Call: Dallas, From Foles’ Perspective

This time two months ago, Nick Foles was recovering from his concussion.

The calendar had flipped from Week 7 to Week 8. The Giants were on deck and Michael Vick was once again the quarterback. Foles had failed in his opportunity to lay claim to the starting job. After a dismal outing against the Cowboys, his future was uncertain. But Foles wasn’t focused on those type of things as the fog began to lift.

“I wasn’t concerned at all. I was thankful to the good Lord for giving me my health back in that time,” said Foles. “When you go through a concussion it’s a serious thing. It’s your head. And down the road I want to be able to be around for my kids and throw the football with them. I think about that when stuff like that happens. That’s what’s important in life: your family, your faith, and after that I was just thankful to be healthy, to be out there throwing the football.

“An opportunity did arise where I was able to go out there and play the game again against Oakland. I was thankful for that opportunity because it wasn’t a guarantee. When I went out there I just played the game. I felt it, let it come to me, wasn’t overthinking. I was just relaxed and I was thankful to be out there.”

We all know how the story has played out for Foles, at least to this point. He has led the Eagles to six wins in seven tries since taking over in Oakland. Has amassed 25 touchdowns while throwing just two interceptions. Leads the league in quarterback rating and has the Eagles on the brink of a postseason berth in Chip Kelly‘s first year as head coach. His face is on the cover of Sports Illustrated and his jersey is in Canton, Ohio.

Have you been able to stop at all over these last eight weeks and think about what has happened and how you got here?

“There are times when you do flash back. You can’t help it,” said Foles. “And I just smile and thank the good Lord for the opportunity because it is crazy, after the Dallas game and all the emotions you feel trying to get healthy, and just for our team to stay together throughout that entire time.”

As it so happens, the biggest game of the season to date is against the same Cowboys team that Foles struggled against back on October 20. There is a full-circle narrative that can be woven, for sure. The second-year quarterback can exorcise a few ghosts while helping to punch his team’s ticket to the postseason.

The key is to not try and chase those ghosts.

“I know better than that. I know better than that,” said Foles. “I know everybody’s going to dwell on the last time, but it’s not the last time. This game is not the last game.

“I can’t go back in time. I can’t do that. What I can control is how I do today, how I prepare, how I threw the routes, how I went through the progressions, was I accurate for the receivers. And if I take care of today I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes and then I’ll get better then, and by game day hopefully we’ll be in a good position to be successful.”

WHAT YOU MISSED

Kapadia uses the All-22 to show how some of Kelly’s core principles were at work against Chicago.

The Eagles are still preparing as if Tony Romo could start.

Sheil lays out all the Eagles playoff scenarios.

Brian Dawkins played with Kyle Orton in Denver, and cautions that the defense needs to respect his abilities.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Dan Graziano has LeSean McCoy second in his MVP Watch.

These Eagles are something. In an NFL world in which every public statement is a smokescreen, coach Chip Kelly insisted last week that he’d play his starters even if the game ended up meaningless, and McCoy told everyone who’d listen that he was going to run the ball right down the throat of a horrible Bears run defense. And then that’s exactly what they did. When McCoy is running as he was Sunday and Kelly remembers to give him the ball, the two of them remind you of Walt and Jesse from “Breaking Bad” when they were tenting houses all over Albuquerque. Just watching the money pile up and knowing for a fact that no one could stop them. “Say my name!” you could almost hear Kelly growling as the touchdowns piled up.

And he has Foles 10th.

Earlier, up there in the first blurb, there was a discussion about touchdown-to-interception ratios. Foles’ is 25 to 2. Extrapolating that, by the time he got to Peyton Manning’s 10 interceptions, he’d have 125 touchdowns. By the time he got to Eli’s interception number, he’d have 325 touchdowns. After 15 games, it seems safe to say that Chip Kelly’s offense is capable of special things if it has a superstar running back and a quarterback who makes smart decisions and no mistakes. Whether Foles can be that long term remains a question for Kelly to answer this offseason. But right now, with one game to win against the Cowboys and backup QB Kyle Orton for the most improbable of the eight 2013 division titles, no one’s even thinking about that. Kelly, Foles and McCoy look as though they’re driving a Ferrari and everyone else is on trikes.

ESPN’s Todd Archer with the latest on Romo.

Coach Jason Garrett said Tony Romo was feeling better but not “overly comfortable” Wednesday as the Dallas Cowboys began preparations for Sunday’s NFC East championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Romo did not practice, nor did he go through pre-practice meetings as he continues to receive treatment on an ailing back. Sources said Romo had an epidural on Monday to help alleviate the pain from his back. The Cowboys have not ruled Romo out of Sunday’s game, but sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen that Romo will not play and needs surgery to repair a herniated disk.

COMING UP

Preparations for the Cowboys continue. Kelly will address the media at 11:40 before practice.