Nick Foles


Nicholas Edward Foles is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 11 seasons. A member of six teams, he achieved his greatest success with the Philadelphia Eagles, leading them to the franchise's first Super Bowl title.
Foles played college football for the Arizona Wildcats and was selected by the Eagles in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft. He had a breakout season in 2013 when he set the NFL season record for the best touchdown–interception ratio and led the Eagles to a division title, earning him Pro Bowl honors. Foles was traded to the St. Louis Rams after being unable to duplicate his success the following year, where he struggled during his one season. Foles spent the 2016 season as a backup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Foles returned to the Eagles in 2017 as Carson Wentz's backup, but was promoted to starter when Wentz was injured near the end of the season. Foles led the Eagles throughout their playoff run, which culminated with a victory in Super Bowl LII and him earning the game's MVP award. Initially returning to his backup role in 2018, Foles guided Philadelphia on another postseason run after Wentz was again lost to injury. Foles opted out of his contract with the Eagles to join the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, but suffered an injury during the season opener that caused him to miss most of the year. Foles played his last three seasons as a backup and starter with the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts.

Early life

Foles was born and raised in Austin, Texas, the son of restaurateurs Larry and Melissa Foles. He graduated from Westlake High School in 2007.
A two-year starter for the football team, Foles threw for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns, breaking most school records previously held by Foles' future NFL opponent, Drew Brees.
Foles also excelled at basketball, where he started three years, twice received team MVP honors, and was recruited by Georgetown, Baylor, and Texas. Foles also played high school football with Justin Tucker, a former kicker for the Baltimore Ravens, and Kyle Adams, a former tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears.
Foles originally committed to Arizona State, but later decided to attend Michigan State. He ultimately transferred to the University of Arizona.

College career

Foles attended Michigan State for one year. He appeared in a game against UAB, completing five of eight passes for 57 yards.
After a year at Michigan State, Foles transferred to the University of Arizona and had to redshirt his 2008 freshman season.
After quarterback Willie Tuitama graduated, Foles competed with expected successor Matt Scott, who got the nod after spring practice because the coaches believed he could run effectively as well as pass. Despite victories against Central Michigan and Northern Arizona, Scott struggled against Iowa and the next week was benched in favor of Foles. In Corvallis, Foles led the Wildcats to a victory against Oregon State. He started the rest of the season, completing 260 of 409 passes for 2,486 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
As a redshirt junior in 2010, Foles was the unquestioned starter. Foles led the Wildcats to a 7–1 start, including a victory against #9 Iowa on national television. Foles led the game-winning drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Bug Wright. A knee injury in the Washington State game sidelined him for two games, but Foles finished off his junior year with 3,191 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
During the 2011 season, Foles completed 387 of 560 passes for 4,334 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He ranked first in the Pac-12 Conference and fifth among all NCAA Division I FBS players with an average of 352.58 yards of total offense per game. Foles also ranked second in the Pac-12 and 20th among all FBS players in total passing yardage.
Foles graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in communications.

College statistics

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles (first stint)

2012 season

Foles was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round in the 2012 NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract with the team on May 21, 2012.
Despite speculation that Foles would start the Eagles' Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, Eagles coach Andy Reid stated that Michael Vick would start that game. The following week against the division rival Dallas Cowboys, after Vick left the game in the second quarter with concussion symptoms, Foles made his NFL debut. Foles threw his first career touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin for 44 yards and finished with 22 completed passes out of 32 attempts for 219 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. With Philadelphia behind 31–23 in the last minute, Foles lost the ball as he was sacked, and Jason Hatcher of the Cowboys recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Vick was eventually ruled out of the following game against the Washington Redskins in Week 11, and Foles made his first career start. Philadelphia lost to the Redskins 31–6, and Foles completed 21-for-47 passes for 204 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
On December 3, 2012, Eagles coach Andy Reid announced that Foles would start for the rest of the year, regardless of when Vick returned from a concussion. During Week 14, Foles earned his first win as a starter in a narrow 23–21 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With two seconds remaining on the clock and Philadelphia down 21–16 at the Bucs' one-yard line, Foles threw a one-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin for the game-winning touchdown as time expired. He finished the game with 381 passing yards and two touchdowns, both coming in the final four minutes, to go along with 27 rushing yards and a touchdown. On December 23, Foles broke his hand against the Redskins, and was replaced by Vick in the season finale against the New York Giants. Three days later, Foles was placed on injured reserve.

2013 season

Going into training camp, new head coach Chip Kelly announced that Foles would compete with Vick and newly drafted rookie Matt Barkley for the Eagles starting quarterback job in the 2013 season. Going into preseason, it became clear that the job was a two-way battle between Foles and Vick. Foles played average during preseason while Vick excelled past him. On August 20, it was announced that Vick would start the season and Foles would be the backup.
Foles saw his first game in action during a Week 4 loss against the Denver Broncos. He completed 3 out of 4 attempted passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions.
During Week 5, Foles entered the game against the New York Giants in the second quarter, after Vick suffered a hamstring injury. Foles completed 16 of 25 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Eagles to a 36–21 road victory over the Giants. Later in the week, it was announced that Foles would get the start in Week 6 against the 0–4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after Vick was declared unable to start due to his injury. Foles had one of the best starts of his career, completing 22 of 31 passes for 296 yards and four total touchdowns in the 31–20 victory, a performance that earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
On October 15, Vick announced that he needed another week of rehab before he was able to start again, making Foles the starter for the Week 7 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys for the division lead. However, against the Cowboys, Foles completed only 11 of 29 passes for 80 yards, with no touchdowns. In that same game, Foles left in the fourth quarter after suffering a head injury, and was replaced by rookie Matt Barkley. Barkley did not perform well either, throwing three interceptions. The Eagles went on to lose 17–3 to the Cowboys thus dropping to 3–4 on the season and one game out of first place. The next day, Foles was diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out of any participation in the Week 8 matchup against the Giants on medical grounds.
Foles was given his third start of the season for the Week 9 matchup against the Oakland Raiders. Foles threw for seven touchdowns, tying a record held by six other quarterbacks. He is one of three quarterbacks to throw seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Foles also amassed a perfect passer rating, having thrown more touchdown passes than incompletions. He was awarded his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week Award of the season for his performance.
During Week 10, Foles played in his sixth game of the season against the Green Bay Packers. Coming into the game, the Eagles had lost to the Packers on the last three occasions the teams had met. Foles completed 12 of 18 passes for 228 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. His passer rating was extremely high for the second consecutive week, finishing at 149.3 and becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to post passer ratings above 149 in consecutive weeks. Foles carried eight times during the game, including a 16 yard long run, finishing the game with 38 yards total and a fumble lost. The Eagles won the game 27–13 and moved to 5–5.
Foles continued as the starting quarterback in Week 11 of the regular season against the Washington Redskins at home. For the sixth time this season, Foles’ passer rating eclipsed 100, as he completed 17 of 26 passes for 298 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing nine times for 47 yards and a touchdown. He led the Eagles to a 24–0 lead at the end of the third quarter, before a comeback from the Redskins meant the game finished 24–16. The win moved the Eagles to an overall record of 6–5–0 and first position in the NFC East. The Eagles had not won at Lincoln Financial Field in 413 days since defeating the Giants on September 30, 2012; ending a streak of 10 consecutive home defeats. Foles was named the NFC Player of the Month for his play during the month of November.
Following a Week 12 bye, the Eagles faced the Arizona Cardinals. Following their bye week, the Eagles had slipped into second place in the divisional standings behind fierce rivals the Cowboys. Foles was named as the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, a decision which Vick fully agreed with.
For the seventh time this season, Foles' passer rating eclipsed 100, as he completed 21 of 34 passes for 237 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also rushed nine times for 22 yards and fumbled on one occasion, although this was recovered by his teammates – and did not result in a turnover. Following a closely contested game, the Eagles held on to win 24–21 despite a fourth quarter comeback by Carson Palmer. Foles set a team record for most passes without an interception, breaking Michael Vick's mark of 224 set in 2010. He also moved within one touchdown pass of the record 20 straight touchdown passes set by Peyton Manning and zero interceptions to start a season before throwing an interception in a blizzard game in Philadelphia against the Detroit Lions in which the Eagles won 34–20. The win took the Eagles to an overall record of 8–5 and surpassed Dallas for the number one spot in the NFC East. The following week in Minnesota, the team's five game winning streak was snapped with a loss. However, Foles again had another impressive game with yet another passer rating over 100 and three more touchdowns and only his second interception of the season. The following week, the Eagles defeated the Chicago Bears 54–11, which saw another passer rating over 100 and a completion of 84.0% of his passes, a career-high. Foles helped lead the Eagles to their first NFC East division title in three years by beating the Cowboys in the regular season finale. Foles had his ninth game with a passer rating over 100.
Foles finished the 2013 regular season with 2,891 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and only two interceptions, just behind Tom Brady's 2016 record of 28 touchdown passes and two interceptions for the best TD-INT ratio in NFL history, and a season leading 119.0 passer rating and third in NFL history trailing only to Aaron Rodgers' 122.5 rating in 2011 and Peyton Manning's 121.1 rating in 2004. Foles led the Eagles to a playoff berth, their first since 2010. Hosting the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles lost on a last-minute field goal as the game ended at 26–24. Foles threw for 195 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions for a passer rating of 105.0 in his postseason debut. Foles was awarded the "NFL Greatness on the Road" award for his seven touchdown, perfect game performance against the Oakland Raiders during a road game in 2013. When including postseason games, Foles maintains the single season record for TD-INT ratio at 14.5–1, which he achieved by posting 27 touchdowns in the 2013 regular season and two touchdown passes in the 2013 postseason along with a total of just two interceptions.
Foles was also assigned to the 2014 Pro Bowl as an alternate and was drafted by Team Sanders. Despite losing the game, Foles went 7 for 10 for 89 yards and a go-ahead touchdown. He won the Pro Bowl Offensive MVP award, which included a new GMC truck.