Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona, and was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has also played for the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs.
Foles played his first game with the Eagles in Week 10 of the 2012 season after Michael Vick left with an injury. Foles then made his first start the following week. In Week 9 of the 2013 season, he became the second quarterback to post a perfect passer rating (158.3) while passing for more than 400 yards, and also the first quarterback in NFL history to post a perfect passer rating and throw seven touchdowns in a single game. It was the 60th time in NFL history that a perfect passer rating was achieved overall.
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Early years
The son of Larry and Melissa Foles, restaurateurs, Foles was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He graduated in 2007 from Westlake High School, the alma mater of star NFL quarterback Drew Brees. A two-year starter for the football team, Foles threw for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns, breaking most school records previously held by Brees; he would play against Brees and the New Orleans Saints during the 2013-14 NFL playoffs. Foles also excelled at basketball, where he started three years, twice received team MVP honors, and was recruited by Georgetown, Baylor, and Texas. He also played high school football with Justin Tucker, kicker for the Baltimore Ravens, and Kyle Adams, a free agent formerly of 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.
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College career
After attending Michigan State for a year, Foles transferred to Arizona and had to redshirt his 2008 freshman season.
After Willie Tuitama graduated, Foles entered a quarterback competition with expected successor Matt Scott. After spring practice Scott was given the starting role when the coaches felt that being a dual threat quarterback would open up the offense. Despite victories against Central Michigan and Northern Arizona, Scott struggled against Iowa and the next week Foles was given the chance to start. In Corvallis, Foles led the Wildcats to a victory against Oregon State. Foles continued to start for the rest of the year, completing 260-of-409 pass attempts 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 which included a victory against #9 Iowa on national television. Foles led the game-winning drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Bug Wright. Against Washington State, Foles suffered a knee injury that kept him sidelined for two weeks. Foles finished off his junior year with 3,191 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions despite missing two games due to injury.
During the 2011 season, Foles completed 387-of-560 passes for 4,334 yards and 28 touchdowns. 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. He 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 communication.
Statistics
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
2012 season
Foles was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round with the 88th overall pick 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 on November 5 (Week 9), Eagles coach Andy Reid stated that 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, one touchdown, and one 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 Washington Redskins 31-6, and Foles was 21-for-47 in passing 204 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
On Monday, December 3, 2012, Eagles coach Andy Reid announced that Foles would start for the remainder of the year, regardless of when Michael Vick returned from a concussion. The following Week 14 game on December 9, Foles earned his first win as a starter in the Eagles' 23-21 win 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 1-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin for the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Foles completed 32-of-51 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns - both coming in the final four minutes. He also had 27 rushing yards and a rushing 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. On December 26, Foles was placed on injured reserve.
2013: Pro Bowl 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 would excel past him. On August 20, it was announced that Vick would start the season and Foles would be the backup.
Foles saw his first action during a Week 4 loss against the Denver Broncos. He completed 3 out of 4 attempted passes for a total of 49 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions.
On October 6, 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 2 touchdowns, leading the Eagles to a 36-21 win over the Giants. Later in the week it was announced that Foles would get the start Week 6 vs the 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after Vick was declared unable to start due to his injury. In his Week 6 start on October 13, Foles had one of the best starts of his career, completing 22 of 31 passes for 296 yards and 4 total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) in a 31-20 win over the Bucs, 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 would only complete 11 of 29 passes for a total of 80 yards, with no touchdowns. In that same game, Foles left in the 4th quarter after suffering a head injury, and was replaced by rookie Matt Barkley. Barkley would not perform well either, throwing 3 interceptions. The Eagles went on to lose 17-3 to the Cowboys thus dropping to 3-4 on the season and 1 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.
Vick left the game late in the second quarter of the Eagles 15-7 loss to the Giants in Week 8, aggravating the hamstring injury he had previously picked up in Week 5.
Foles was given his third start of the season for Week 9 against the Oakland Raiders. Against the Raiders, Foles threw for seven touchdowns, tying a record held by six other quarterbacks. Foles is one of three quarterbacks to throw seven touchdowns and zero interceptions; he also amassed a perfect passer rating (158.3), having thrown more touchdown passes than incompletions. Foles was awarded his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week Award of the season for his performance vs the Raiders.
In Week 10 of the regular season, Foles played in his sixth game of the season (four starts) 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 (including post season). Foles completed 12 out of 18 passes for a total of 228 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. His passer rating was extremely high for the second consecutive week, finishing at 149.3 and becoming the first QB in NFL history to post passer ratings above 149 in consecutive weeks. Foles carried 8 times during the game, including a 16 yard long run, finishing the game with 38 yards total and one 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 his 26 attempts for 298 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Foles rushed the ball on 9 occasions during the game, ending with 47 total yards and a rushing 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 New York Giants on September 30, 2012; ending a streak of 10 consecutive home defeats. On November 27, Foles was named the NFC Player of the Month for his play during the month of November.
The Eagles did not have a game scheduled for Week 12 of the regular season. The team returned to action on Sunday, December 1, for a home game against the Arizona Cardinals. Following their bye week, the Eagles had slipped into 2nd 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 (who began the year as the number one quarterback) fully agreed with.
For the seventh time this season, Foles's passer rating eclipsed 100, as he completed 21 of 34 attempted passes for a total of 237 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He also rushed for 22 yards on 9 attempts 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 (233), 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. A week later in Minnesota, the team's five game winning streak was snapped with a loss to Minnesota. 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 27 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions, surpassing Tom Brady's 2010 season posting of 36/4 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, the first since 2010. Hosting the 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.
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. Foles won the Pro Bowl Offensive MVP award, which included a new GMC truck.
2014 season
Going into 2014, Chip Kelly had released Foles' top receiver, DeSean Jackson, but Jeremy Maclin, who had good chemistry with Foles in 2012, returned from an ACL tear and had a career season, gaining 702 yards and six touchdowns with Foles as QB, finishing with 1,318 yards and ten scores. He was also aided by rookie receiver Jordan Matthews, second year tight end Zach Ertz, and veteran running back Darren Sproles.
Foles and the Eagles kicked off their 2014 season with a Week 1 home matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Foles started the game poorly, losing 2 fumbles and throwing an interception in the first half. Foles only lost 2 fumbles and threw 2 interceptions the entire 2013 season. The Eagles defense also performed poorly, as they trailed 17-0 after the first half. However, the Eagles roared back in the second half, scoring 34 unanswered points to defeat the Jags 34-17. Overall, Foles completed 24 of 45 passes for 332 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with the 3 turnovers.
Foles led the Eagles to a 30-27 win over the Colts after trailing by as much as 20-6 early in the third. Foles went 21-37, passing for 331 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception during the game.
Foles played his best game of the young season in 37-34 win over the division rival Washington Redskins. Foles fought off the slow starts of games past, a strong Washington defensive front seven, and a brutal blindside hit from Washington defensive lineman Chris Baker which resulted in a major brawl between both teams and causing Eagles left tackle Jason Peters, the strongest player in their line, and Baker to be ejected from the game. Foles finished the game completing 66 percent of his passes, going for 325 yards and three touchdowns. In Week 8, Foles set a franchise record for most completions in a game with 36 and threw a career-high 62 times in a close loss to the Arizona Cardinals, finishing with 411 passing yards and 2 TDs. The following week in a game against the Houston Texans, Foles left the game during the first half with a broken collarbone, which led to Foles being put on injured reserve, ending his 2014 season. Mark Sanchez would finish out the season as the Eagles starting quarterback.
After a league-best 27-2 TD-INT ratio in 2013, Foles finished the season with 2,163 yards in 8 games, and a 13-10 TD-INT ratio. He also fumbled 4 times, only recovering it once. Overall, all of his stats were narrowly beaten by Sanchez, including turnovers (14-11 TD-INT ratio). On the bright side, he was on pace to have over 4,000 yards passing and he led the team to a 6-2 record as starter, first place in the NFC East and second place in the NFC.
St. Louis Rams
On March 10, 2015, the Eagles traded Foles, a 2015 fourth-round pick, and a 2016 second-round pick to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for Sam Bradford and a 2015 fifth-round pick. Foles signed a two-year, $24.5 million extension with the Rams on August 7, 2015. Foles's first game with the team came against the division rival Seattle Seahawks, who had the league's No. 1 defense in 2013 and 2014. Foles went 18 for 27 and passed for 297 yards in the game, and his lone passing touchdown came with 53 seconds left, bringing the game into overtime. He also ran for 11 yards and 1 touchdown, which put the Rams in the lead in the middle of the second quarter. In overtime, Foles threw a 22-yard pass to wide receiver Stedman Bailey, which set up the Rams' game-winning field goal over the defending NFC Champions.
Following the dramatic win, Foles struggled against his former divisional rival, the Redskins. Although he didn't turn the ball over, he only completed 17 passes out of 32 for 150 yards and the Rams lone touchdown as they lost 24-10. Foles' accuracy improved the following week, going 19/28 for 197 yards, but he threw no touchdowns and his first interception as a Ram against the Steelers, and the Rams dropped to 1-2. Following the two losses, Foles bounced back, going 16-24 for 3 touchdowns and no turnovers to hand the 3-0 Arizona Cardinals their first loss of the season. After that game, Foles' problems with turnovers from 2014 started to show, as he completed 11 passes out of 30 for 141 yards, 1 touchdown, and a career-high 4 interceptions against the Green Bay Packers. On November 16 Foles was benched in favor of Case Keenum. He won his starting job back 2 weeks later after Keenum was out with a concussion, but his struggles worsened. In a loss against Cincinnati, he went 30/46 for 228 yards (his second highest total of the year) and 3 interceptions, and followed it up by going 15/35 for 146 yards and 1 interception. Foles was again benched after Keenum returned from his concussion.
Upset that the now-Los Angeles Rams drafted quarterback Jared Goff with the first overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft, Foles requested and was granted a release on July 27, 2016.
Kansas City Chiefs
Foles signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on August 3, 2016. It was a one-year deal worth $1.75 million and includes a second year option for 2017, worth between $6.75 million and $16 million depending on his performance during the Chiefs 2016 season. In Week 8 at Indianapolis after Alex Smith left the game with a concussion, Foles took over for the remainder of the game, and finished 16/22 completions with 223 yards and two touchdowns. The Chiefs announced that Foles would start in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars as Smith was still recovering from injury. Foles won the game over Jacksonville, 19-14, and finished 20/33 with 187 yards and a touchdown. The next day, Smith was announced to start Week 10.
On March 9, 2017, the Chiefs declined a second-year option on his contract, making him a free agent.
Philadelphia Eagles (second stint)
On March 13, 2017, Foles signed a two-year contract to return to the Philadelphia Eagles to back up 2016 first-round pick Carson Wentz.
Career statistics
Career awards and highlights
- Pro Bowl selection (2013)
- Pro Bowl Offensive MVP (2013)
- NFL Passer rating leader (2013)
Personal life
Foles is a Christian. Foles reads the Bible every day and has spoken about his faith saying, "I'm a Christian and I believe in God... and when you do great, you stay humble and you give Him glory." He married wife Tori (Née Moore), who is the younger sister of former NFL tight end Evan Moore.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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