Reality Strikes: Foles’ battle against himself

There were three battles that the Eagles needed to win in order to defeat the Cardinals in week eight and losing any of those battles would result in an automatic loss. Lets see how things went down….

1. Jeremy Maclin would need to prove that he can be the number one option that the Eagles need with Patrick Peterson across the LOS. Check the stat line and you will see why Maclin bet on himself with a one-year contract last off-season. Monster game isn’t even how I would describe the production we saw from Maclin. Someone get this man a cape. CHECK!
2. LeSean McCoy and the offensive line would need to create some kind of running game versus a very stingy run defense. McCoy decided to respond with his second highest rushing yardage output of the season and if you watched the game, it had nothing to do with the offensive line. McCoy was dodging defenders two to three yards behind the line and fighting for two to three yard gains. He managed to eventually wear down the Cardinals defense later in the game while trying to run the clock down as well. All in all, Shady produced about as much as he could without hist strongest run blockers in Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis. CHECK!
3. Nick Foles and company would need to limit turnovers against an aggressive defense so that they could protect a weak defensive secondary on their own team. This was the problem. NOPE!

Philadelphia Eagles fans are spoiled rotten when it comes to the quarterback position being as efficient and effective as possible. Donovan McNabb had a distinct propensity to throw balls into the ground when he couldn’t get the ball to his receivers (whoever they were).

Turnovers were not associated with Eagles football for a very long time. In fact, Foles is the first Eagles quarterback to throw nine interceptions in the first seven games of a season since 1989. Even when Michael Vick was the Eagles quarterback during his worst turnover ridden days, he did not surpass the nine interception mark in week seven of the regular season.

Anyone who is surprised that the Eagles lost that game could not have been watching the Eagles that I know and love. Fans and analysts alike know that the Eagles have been winning games this season despite Foles’s turnovers through a variety of ways, whether they be defensive touchdowns, special teams scores, or timely stands by the Eagles defense.

Winning was simply unsustainable with the amount of balls being thrown away and remember, Foles led the league in missed interceptions last season as well. This isn’t a new issue for Foles, it has just finally began to rear its head now that Desean Jackson isn’t there to keep those safeties away. At the end of the day, Foles is a young quarterback that has flashed both his potential and his weaknesses, neither of which are breath-taking. However, this is a battle that fans must watch the coaching staff and Foles himself fight out and, in Philadelphia, losing the turnover battle is not an option.