PHILADELPHIA — Facing a must-win with their Super Bowl MVP backup quarterback leading the way, the Philadelphia Eagles responded like champions.
Don’t write them off just yet.
“We’re still playing for something,” Coach Doug Pederson said Monday, less than 24 hours after Nick Foles led the Eagles to a 30-23 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. “Our backs are against the wall. We know the nature of where we are, what needs to be done, and I think you saw a little bit of that last night. Just how well this team kind of came together in all three phases to get this win against a great football team.”
The Eagles (7-7) still need help to get in the playoffs. They can only win the NFC East if they beat Houston (10-4) at home and Washington (7-7) on the road and Dallas (8-6) goes 0-2 or 0-1-1 vs. Tampa Bay (5-9) and at the Giants (5-9).
A wild-card berth is more likely if Philadelphia wins out, though Minnesota (7-6-1) or Carolina (6-7) has to lose or tie once more or Seattle (8-6) has to go 0-2 or 0-1-1.
“We want to continue to play,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “If we want our dreams to continue we’ve got to go take it. … We’ve got the mentality that we have to go steal whatever it is that we want if we want to continue. It’s not going to be easy; nobody asked it to be. We’re fine with doing something special and extraordinary.”
Filling in for injured starter Carson Wentz, Foles was excellent against the Rams (11-3). He completed 24 of 31 passes for 270 yards, leading the offense to its second-highest scoring output this season in his first start since Week 2.
The veteran played with the same poise and confidence he displayed during the 2017 postseason when he stepped in for Wentz and led Philadelphia to its first NFL title since 1960.
Pederson said Foles will start this week against the Texans but Wentz will stay on the active roster despite a stress fracture in his back.
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