Eagles top 10 acquisitions of 2017: #1 — Nick Foles

Virtually everything the Eagles touched in 2017 turned to gold silver. With free agency around the corner and the draft to follow, we look back at the top 10 moves the Eagles made on their path to the Super Bowl.

Our countdown concludes with who else but Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.

When I thought up this series prior to the playoffs, I wondered where Foles would rank. With him starting at QB, the Eagles won the two regular season games they needed to secure the #1 seed. He played great off the bench against the Rams and in his first start against the Giants, but then turned in a brutal performance against the Raiders that gave everyone a reason to worry for the playoffs. If they lost to Falcons, would he even feature in the top 10? If they had lost to the Vikings, would he have been in the top 5?

That’s the beauty of sports: if they were entirely predictable, we wouldn’t watch. We expect teams starting backup quarterbacks to lose, especially in the playoffs where they’re facing good teams. Prior to the playoffs comparisons were made to Jeff Hostetler, who played good enough to win a Super Bowl best remembered for the other team’s mistake.

Foles was on another level. He outplayed reigning MVP Matt Ryan in a close win. He threw three touchdowns against a Vikings defense that was being billed as the best in the league while fellow former Ram turned backup turned starter Case Keenum crumbled. And in the Super Bowl he went toe to toe with Tom Brady as a passer, and was his superior as a receiver.

I’m not sure what else can be said about Foles that hasn’t already. The redemption story from Jeff Fisher all but killing his desire to play football is great. Calling his own number in the biggest spot in one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl and by extension NFL history is incredible.

Having nearly retired because he didn’t want to play football anymore, it wouldn’t have been that shocking if he decided that with nothing more to accomplish he wanted to ride off into the sunset. It would be a hell of a way to go.

We’ll see what happens with Foles. He’s earned the right to have a say in his future, but if a team gives the Eagles an offer they can’t refuse, they should take it. If he’s elsewhere this season, going out as an Eagle with the Lombardi Trophy is an incredible lasting memory.

Whoever came up with the name “Philly Special” was a genius. It sealed the legend of Nick Foles.