Notes on Nick: Foles turns in poor performance in win over Raiders

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

The last time that Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles against the Oakland Raiders was Nov. 3, 2013. In that game, he tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes. Chip Kelly was his play-caller, while he threw touchdown passes to DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper and LeSean McCoy in a 49-20 win over the Terrelle Pryor-led Raiders. The only Eagle who caught a touchdown pass in Foles' historic performance against the Raiders that's still with the team is Zach Ertz, who was a rookie in 2013. Matt Barkley even got a few snaps at the end of the game for the Eagles. 

Suffice to say, a ton has changed since the last time that Foles led the Eagles against the Raiders. Still, some things are very different. Foles may now be coached by Doug Pederson and surrounded with a nearly entirely different team, but 2013 was the last time that the Eagles made the playoffs. The Eagles entered the night having already clinched the NFC East and a first-round bye, but the Eagles matchup against the Raiders still had large playoff implications – a win would allow Foles and the Eagles to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. 

Here are my in-game notes on Foles' performance against the Raiders on a special (if that's what you want to call it) Christmas edition of Monday Night Football: 

First Quarter

Drive One

• Foles and the Eagles started their first drive of the game on their own 25-yard line, following a touchback on the opening kickoff. 
• On the first offensive play of the game, Foles targeted Nelson Agholor, but the pass wasn't especially close to being completed. 
• On second-and-10, Foles connected with Torrey Smith for a five-yard gain. For whatever reason, Doug Pederson really likes to script this play early in the game. 
• Foles wasn't able to connect with Zach Ertz on third-and-five. Ertz, as Jon Gruden pointed out on the telecast, slipped coming out of his break, which is why the throw to him didn't seem especially close. 
• It's worth noting that Pederson didn't have the Eagles run the ball at all in the first three plays of the game. 

Drive Two

• After the Raiders turned it over on downs on their first offensive drive, Foles and the Eagles began their second offensive series in prime position, on their own 42-yard line. 
• Following a Jay Ajayi 10-yard run on first-down, Foles found LeGarrette Blount out of the backfield for a three-yard gain on first-down. 
• After the pass to Blount, the Eagles called a series of runs that featured Corey Clement, Blount and Ajayi, which included a fourth-down conversion from Clement. The drive ended with a touchdown pass to Ajayi on a screen pass. Ajayi seems to work well with an Eagles offensive line that he's still gelling with. 

Make way for the Jay-🚂!@JayTrain and the @Eagles strike first! #FlyEaglesFly#OAKvsPHI pic.twitter.com/IEgka2sT8j

— NFL (@NFL) December 26, 2017

• Unfortunately, this drive wasn't a precursor of what was to come the rest of the night. 

Drive Three

• The Eagles started their third drive of the game on their own 20 with a short run by Blount. 
• On third-and-seven, Foles targeted Agholor, who was held, allowing the Eagles to move the chains. It did appear that Lane Johnson may have gotten away with a hold near Foles. 

Second Quarter

Drive Three (continued)

• To open the second quarter, Foles checked the ball down to Ajayi in the backfield, as the pocket collapsed. Ajayi beat a defender for a short gain. 
• On third-and-four, Foles nearly threw a pick, as he stared down Ertz. Reggie Nelson, who had grass in front of him, may have been thinking about how he would celebrate a touchdown, as he dropped what should have been an easy pick, after jumping Ertz's route. Very poor decision by Foles. 

Drive Four

• Following an Amari Cooper touchdown pass – sheesh, Jalen Mills got burned – Foles finally hooked up with Ertz for the first time in the game, on a pass that went for a first down. 
• On the following play, Foles targeted Brent Celek, again making it very obvious who he planned to throw for. Nelson easily broke it up. 
• On second-and-20, Foles again connected with Ertz, this time for 15 yards. With or without Wentz, Ertz has been one of the league's best weapons in 2017. 
• On third-and-five, Foles took a shot deep for Agholor, who was well covered. The ball ended up about five yards past Agholor, forcing the Eagles to punt. 

Drive Five

• After a characteristically undisciplined drive from the Raiders, the Eagles began their fifth drive on their own 24-yard line. 
• Foles sold a run/pass option well on first down, pulling the ball out of Ajayi's stomach in time to find a wide open Zach Ertz. for a 25-yard gain. Jack Del Rio, rather curiously, challenged the play. He lost the challenge, and a timeout with it. 
• Following a false start from Lane Johnson on first down, Foles had the ball batted down by former Seattle Seahawks star Bruce Irvin at the line. 
• On third-and-eight, the pocket collapsed on a backpedaling Foles. Luckily for the Eagles, the Raiders committed two stupid penalties on a play where the Eagles probably had next-to-no chance to convert for a first down. 
• A completion to Agholor got overturned on the following play, after a questionable holding call against Johnson. 
• Foles connected with Ertz over the middle of the field for a nine-yard gain on first-and-20. 
• On third-and-three, Foles stepped up in the pocket, but threw the ball too low for Smith to haul in. This was a play that Carson Wentz probably would have rolled to the left and ran for an easy first down on, for what it is worth. 
• Following a fourth-down conversion, Foles connected with Celek for the first time, netting the Eagles 12 yards and another first down. 
• On first-down, Foles, connected with Clement for a six-yard gain. This brief stretch was the only time in the night that Foles seemed to heat up at all. And it turned out to be short lived. 
• Foles, on second-and-four, waited too long to throw to Ertz, who was streaking over the middle of the field towards the endzone. When he finally did throw it, it was overthrown. Ertz nearly pulled the ball in between two defenders, but this was a play that Foles should have converted on. 
• On third-and-four, Foles faked to Clement, and kept the ball. Clement seemed to get open over the middle of the field, but Foles elected to simply throw the ball away. As Gruden remarked on the telecast, Foles at least could have attempted to run the ball for a first down. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten it, but it was worth trying, as opposed to simply throwing the ball away. 
• Jake Elliott missed a 33-yard field goal on the next play, which, for all intents and purposes, ended an ugly first half. 

Third Quarter

Drive Six

• After a holding penalty on Johnson on first down, Foles backpedaled when the pocket collapsed and threw the ball at Ajayi's feet, realizing the attempted screen pass hasn't materialized. 
• Following a short Ajayi run on second down, Foles hit Agholor for the first time of the night on third-and-18, but not anywhere near a first down. It was a three-and-out for the Eagles. 

Drive Seven

• Ajayi wasn't able to gain any yards on first down, and Foles was sacked for a nine-yard loss on second down. 
• On third-and-long, Foles threw an incomplete pass in the direction of Smith. It would have been well short of the first-down marker anyway. 

Drive Eight

• Foles and the Eagles started their eighth drive of the game on the Oakland 44, following a Patrick Robinson interception. Foles took a shot (relatively) deep for Agholor on first down. There's two aspects to this play; the throw and the attempted catch. The throw itself was short and indicative of why the offense was stagnant for much of the night. However, Agholor came back to the throw and seemed to have a chance to catch the ball. Instead, it slipped through his hands for an incompletion. 
• Ajayi fumbled on the following play, allowing the Raiders to recover the ball. In the playoffs, the Eagles probably won't even get an opportunity like this deep in opposing territory. If they do, they certainly can't come away with zero points. 

Drive Nine

• Fortunately for the Eagles, Marshawn Lynch fumbled on the Raiders first play, giving the Eagles the ball on Oakland's 30. On the first play, Foles faked to Clement on a sweep, before rolling out to the left and hitting Agholor, who ran for 12 yards. Foles did a good job to get rid of the ball just before he took a big hit. 
• On first-and-10, Foles missed Ertz near the endzone again, throwing high on a ball that likely would have put the Eagles inside the Oakland five-yard line. 
• On the following play, Foles did connect with Ertz, but only for a yard. 
• Prior to an eventual field goal from Elliott, Foles made another errant pass. From the naked eye, it appeared that Alshon Jeffery dropped a catchable ball. However, the replay showed that Foles threw the ball behind Jeffery, and he did a pretty incredible job to even put himself in a position to catch the ball, considering his momentum was carrying him in the opposite direction. 
• This was one of the worst drives of the season. It was the second consecutive drive that the Eagles were set up in Oakland territory and weren't able to score a touchdown on it. Foles also missed both Ertz and Jeffery inside the five-yard line, hanging both out to dry in the process. 

Fourth Quarter

Drive 10

• Blount was met by a gang of defenders on first down, which led to a two-yard loss. Foles followed that up on second down by rolling out and ultimately throwing the ball away, setting up a third-and-12. 
• On third-and-long, Foles dropped the snap for the second time of the night. The offensive line gave him a ton of time to work with, but he held onto the ball, backpedaled 16 yards and ultimately was taken down. For a sixth-year quarterback to lose 16 yards on a play, rather than throwing it away (even if it ended up being intentional grounding), is unacceptable. 

Drive 11

• The Raiders missed a field-goal following the 10th drive by the Eagles, setting the Eagles up on their own 38. Instead of taking advantage of good field position, Foles rolled to the left and threw the ball too high for Ertz, creating a tip drill that Nelson was happy to complete. 

Drive 12

• After Malcolm Jenkins ripped the ball away from Jalen Richard, the Eagles started their 12th drive insider their own 20-yard line.
• The Eagles went three-and-out on the drive, as Foles wasn't able to connect with Jeffery downfield on third-and-four. 

Drive 13

• The Raiders, to the surprise of no one, didn't score after the Eagles unsuccessful drive. When they punted it away, Barner, who has been otherwise very good in 2017, muffed the return. He did fall on the ball, but it pinned the Eagles deep in their own territory. On top of that, Ajayi lost six yards on the opening carry of the drive, pushing the Eagles back to their own six-yard line. 
• On third-and-12, Foles bought some time and targeted Smith who came back, but wasn't able to hook up with him. Even if Smith has caught the ball, it would have been short of a first down. 

Drive 14

• Following a Ronald Darby interception, Foles inexplicably threw a high pass over the middle of the field to Agholor. He caught the ball, but it was a bad pass, and given the status of the game, throwing a short pass over the middle of the field didn't make much sense. 
• On second-and-five, he found Agholor on a crossing pattern, giving him some space to run and netting a eight-yard gain. 
• Foles followed up the Eagles second timeout by hitting Ertz for two consecutive four-yard gains. 
• Ultimately, the Eagles got Elliott in position for a 48-yard field goal. Despite the fact that he had missed a 33-yard field goal earlier in the night, he drilled what turned out to be a game-winning field goal. 

Week 16 Takeaways

• Foles was 19/38 tonight for 163 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Eagles have no choice but to ride with Foles at this point, but tonight was a pretty deflating performance. Frankly, Foles could have thrown three or four interceptions and led a few receivers into big hits tonight. 
• The Eagles won their 13th game of the season and clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC tonight. That's the good news. 
• The bad news, is it won't matter where the Eagles play in the postseason if they turn in a performance like this. The Eagles were playing a bad Raiders team, one that likely sealed the fate of Jake Del Rio with a brutal performance tonight. It still took the team until the last minute of the game to clinch a victory. Much of that had to do with how stagnant Foles and the offense were in the second half. Over the next three weeks, many will try to convince themselves that the Eagles got their bad game out of the way now, which is better to do in Week 16 than in the postseason. But for those clinging onto the minuscule hope that the Eagles can still make a Super Bowl run with Foles at the helm, tonight wasn't a good night. 
• For the Eagles to win in the postseason, they're going to have to put up massive rushing numbers. Tonight they ran only 21 times for 78 yards, in a game that dictated running the ball. That won't come close to cutting it.
• Yes, Foles should start Week 17. That doesn't mean he plays the entire game, but he needs more reps with the team's No. 1 offense in game-like situations before the postseason. This would be a bad taste to linger in your mouth for a few weeks before a postseason game. 
• Over the past year plus, there's been a debate about why NFL ratings are down. I don't think there's one reason – obviously cord-cutting has played a major role. But as many have said, the product of the league has drastically gone down over the past few years. The NFL's golden era was the late-2000s, when five or six of the 15 best quarterbacks in the history of the sport were playing. As those players either declined or retired, they haven't been replaced and the quality of the sport has declined. 
• There's no better example of the diminishing quality of the NFL than what Monday Night Football has become. Monday Night Football used to be the most special sporting event of the week. It's become a shell of its former self in recent years.