NO FOLD IN FOLES AS EAGLES BEAT INJURED PACKERS TEAM
Al Thompson
The Eagles are firing on all cylinders right now and following the Cowboys lopsided loss to the New Orleans Saints are poised to make a run at the NFC East.
A week after tying the NFL record by passing for seven touchdown passes, quarterback Nick Foles threw for three long scores and the Birds (5-5) came out of Green Bay with a a 27-13 victory Sunday over the injury-plagued Green Bay Packers (5-4).
Riley Copper caught two of those TD passes and has five scores over the last two games.
“He has great poise,” Cooper said after the game. “He’s going to sit in the pocket and kind of dissect the defense.
Nick Foles threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns, en route to a 149.3 passer rating. He’s eclipsed 100 in four of his last five games … Over the last two games, Foles is 34 of 46 (73.9%) with 634 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions for a 155.3 passer rating …Foles has thrown 16 touchdowns this season without an interception, which is tied with Milt Plum (16 in 1960) for the second-highest total ever to start a season, behind Peyton Manning’s 20 this year … Foles has thrown 173 passes without an interception dating back to 12/23/12 vs. Washington … Foles has six career touchdown passes of 40-plus yards in just 10 starts, including two against the Packers … Over the last two games, Foles passed for 634 yards and 10 touchdowns. Since 1960, only Tom Brady (11 in 2007) and Tom Flores (11 in 1963) threw more touchdowns in a two-game span.
The Eagles area an unprecedented 5-1 on the road and 0-4 at the Linc this season.
Of the final six regular season games, four are at home. Head coach Chip Kelly said he is not having it anymore.
“We’re not good at home and we’re good on the road,” Kelly said. “We better figure it out because we’re coming home.”
Stats provided by Eagles Media Relations Dept.
Most Touchdowns to start a season without an INT
1. Peyton Manning – 20 (2013)
2. Nick Foles – 16 (2013)
3. Milt Plum – 16 (1960)
4. Don Meredith – 14 (1966)
5. Randall Cunningham – 14 (1998)
More notes:
• Cooper led the team with 102 yards and two touchdowns. He now has three 100-yard games and six touchdowns in his last five starts, including three 40-plus-yard scores … Cooper leads the team this year with 19.8 yards per reception and is tied for the team lead with seven touchdowns.
• DeSean Jackson scored a 55-yard touchdown and has reached the end zone in back-to-back games and six of 10 contests this year. The Eagles are 24-5 when Jackson catches a touchdown … Jackson (5,688) moved past Pete Pihos and into fourth on the team’s all-time receiving yards list … Jackson registered his 27th career touchdown of 25-plus yards, moving out of a tie with Mike Quick and into second place in team history. Tommy McDonald holds the team record with 37.
• The Eagles accumulated 204 rushing yards against a Packers team that came into the game ranked fifth in the NFL, allowing just 94.5 yards per game on the ground … running back LeSean McCoy’s 155 rushing yards were the fourth-highest output of his career. He has eclipsed 100 yards four times this season and 16 times in his career. The Eagles are 13-3 in those games.
• CB Brandon Boykin’s 76-yard interception return was the longest by an Eagle since Sheldon Brown’s 83-yarder on 12/6/09 at Atlanta …LB DeMeco Ryans notched his second interception of the year and is the first Eagles linebacker with at least two sacks and two interceptions in a season since Jeremiah Trotter in 2001. Coming into this week’s game, Ryans has already eclipsed the 100-tackle plateau for the sixth time in his career … DE Vinny Curry registered his team-leading fourth sack of the season.
• The Eagles held the Packers to 0-4 in the red zone, and have now limited opponents to two touchdowns in their last 10 red zone possessions over the last three games.
• The Eagles defense has now held its opponents to 21 points or less in each of the last six games. Kansas City (who has a bye this week) is the only other team in the NFL to do so in every game during that span.
• The Eagles defense has also vastly improved over the last six games in many of the major categories, holding opponents to just 17.7 points and 397.2 yards per game, compared to 27.5 and 446.8 over the first four games
Statistic First 4 Games Last 6 Games
Rushing yards per game 121.8 103.0
Interceptions 2 10
Punts forced 11 35
Completion percentage 70.2% 57.3%
Quarterback rating 107.2 69.4
• This marks the Eagles first victory at Lambeau Field since a 17-14 win in 2003 and their first time beating the Packers since a 31-9 victory at Lincoln Financial Field in 2006 … The Eagles are now 5-1 on the road this season and have won at least five road games 11 times since 2000.
• Punter Donnie Jones’ 39.7 net punting average in 2013 is the best single-season average in Eagles history and his 44.8 gross average ranks third … WR Jason Avant surpassed Harold Jackson for 14th on the team’s all-time receiving yardage list with 3,510 … The Eagles tied a franchise record with their eighth game of over 400 total net yards. They also had eight such games in 2011 … CB Roc Carmichael made his first-career start.
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Brett Mandes