Hey, Eagles backup QBs have actually fared well over the years

Share

They've been here before. An awful lot.

Eagles backup quarterbacks have actually fared extremely well over the years when forced into action because of injuries or other reasons.

This is a unique situation since Carson Wentz was having an MVP season and the Eagles are in position to lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC as early as next weekend.

But in the NFL, quarterbacks get hurt. It's a fact of life. And over the last 20 years, it hasn't been the end of the world when it's happened to the Eagles.

In fact, four of the last six times the Eagles reached the playoffs, their postseason quarterback was not their opening day quarterback.

Let's take a look!
 
1996
Rodney Peete had gone 9-3 and led the Eagles to a playoff win the year before after Randall Cunningham was benched. But after starting out the 1996 season 3-2, Peete suffered a knee injury against the Cowboys and was lost for the season.
 
The backup was Ty Detmer, and he went 7-4 in relief of Peete and led the Eagles to the playoffs, although he got benched in that rainy 14-0 wild-card loss to the 49ers at Candlestick Park.
 
2002
The Eagles were 7-3 when Donovan McNabb hurt his ankle against the Cardinals at the Vet. He threw four touchdown passes while hobbling around, and after the game, he learned that what he believed was a sprained ankle was actually broken.
 
Enter backup Koy Detmer, who gave the Eagles a big lead in San Francisco before getting hurt himself. That forced the Eagles to use No. 3 quarterback A.J. Feeley, who finished off the 49ers win and then went 4-1 in his first five pro starts. McNabb returned for the playoffs, but there wouldn't have been any playoffs if it hadn't been for Feeley.
 
2005
Mike McMahon on the other hand? That one did not go so well. A year after their Super Bowl trip, the Eagles were already struggling at 4-5 when McNabb's season ended with a sports hernia.
 
McMahon was the backup that year and he won just two of seven starts as the McNabb-T.O. drama swirled around the franchise.
 
2006
McNabb tore his ACL against the Titans in mid-November and was lost for the season. Jeff Garcia lost his first start as an Eagle, to the Colts at the RCA Dome, before winning the last five and leading the Eagles to the NFC East title.
 
Garcia then became the first quarterback other than McNabb to win a playoff game since Peete in 1995 when he beat the Giants at the Linc.

2007
McNabb missed parts of three games during the disappointing 2007 season with an ankle injury, but this time Feeley was unable to recall the magic of 2002. Although he beat the Dolphins in relief, he lost starts to the Seahawks and Patriots before McNabb returned.
 
2009
Kevin Kolb replaced McNabb for two midseason games and played very well, going 1-1 but showing enough that the Eagles were comfortable trading McNabb to the Redskins that offseason.
 
2010
Kolb was the opening day starter, but he didn't even make it to halftime. Michael Vick replaced him and went 8-3 in 11 starts and led the Eagles to the playoffs.
 
2011
In 2011 it was Vince Young's turn to serve as the backup, and he won just one of three starts when Vick was hurt.
 
2012
Nick Foles was a rookie in 2012, and when Vick suffered a concussion, Foles replaced him. He won only one of six starts, but he actually played well, completing 61 percent of his passes with more TDs than INTs.
 
2013
A year later, Vick suffered a hamstring injury against the Giants in early October. Foles responded with a Pro Bowl season, with 27 TDs and just two INTs — the best TD-INT ratio in NFL history.
 
2014
Foles opened the 2014 season as the starter but broke his collarbone in a game against the Texans and missed the rest of the season. Mark Sanchez went 4-4, and the Eagles finished 10-6 but missed the playoffs.
 
2016
Sam Bradford didn't get hurt in 2016 but he did get traded, and Wentz, No. 3 a week before the regular season, was promoted to No. 1 and responded with an auspicious rookie season, going 7-9 but giving everybody a hint of what was to come.
 
2017
Which brings us to this year. Wentz was having a remarkable season until he hurt his knee in Los Angeles Sunday. Foles replaced him and with plenty of help from the defense rallied the Eagles to a 43-35 win. Moving forward, it appears Foles will be the Eagles' quarterback the rest of the season and postseason.

Contact Us