In spite of nearly throwing an interception that would have ended his quest for an NFL record, Nick Foles broke an Eagles franchise record Sunday.
Nick Foles continued his NFL history making world tour at the helm of the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday.
Late in the fourth quarter Foles tossed an interception into the waiting hands of Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson. However, after the officials called a defensive holding penalty negating the pick, the remaining fans at Lincoln Financial Field cheered and Foles broke another Eagles team record.
Thanks to throwing three touchdowns Sunday Foles is just one scoring strike shy of tying Peyton Manning's NFL record for most touchdowns to start a season without throwing an interception. However, following Sunday's 24-21 victory Foles stands alone atop the Eagles franchise record book after throwing 232 consecutive passes without an interception.
“It just goes with learning,” Foles said. “I learned through making mistakes. I learned from throwing interceptions in high school and college and practice. I try to push it in practice, test my boundaries, see what throws are capable against a certain defense.
“It’s through a lot of mistakes that I’ve learned that, and I’ve got to continue working on it. … Mistakes like the one I made today where I was off-balance and threw it across the middle. That’s a no-no. I can’t do that.”
Foles hasn't thrown an interception since December 23, 2012 when London Fletcher picked him off in the midst of a Redskins 27-20 win over the Eagles.
In his career, he’s thrown five interceptions in 461 attempts, one every 92 passes, by far the best in NFL history.
However, Foles' success has surpassed simply protecting the football.
Looking at some of the more familiar names from Foles' 2012 draft class mates, the third-round pick is acquitting himself rather nicely without having the luxury of the franchise quarterback label of his contemporaries.
In 12 career starts, Foles has thrown three or more touchdowns in four games. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck has accomplished that same feat three times in 28 starts, Robert Griffin III did it four times in 26 starts, Ryan Tannehill has done it once in 27 starts and Russell Wilson has set the bar with five three-touchdown or more games in 27 starts.
While Foles' sample size is smaller than many of his draft classmates, he has been just as prolific and has shown little sign of dropping off anytime soon.
For the season Foles now has thrown 19 touchdowns and zero interceptions while completing 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,791 yards in six starts and parts of two other games. The statistic that matters most is victories and the Eagles are now 5-1 in games he's started, besting three teams with top-ten defenses along the way.
Following Sunday's game, Foles finished his fourth consecutive contest with a quarterback rating above 100.
“A quarterback has to be consistent,” Foles said. “Especially in this league. There’s so much talent, these defenses are very good and as an offense, you really want to get the ball in the playmakers’ hands and and be smart with the ball.
“There’s things I need to get better at. That’s why I love this game. There’s always an opportunity to get better.”
Along the way, Foles continues to re-write both the NFL and the Eagles record books.
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
