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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson head to the locker room after their game at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, December 7, 2014. The Eagles lost the game 24-14. (Martin Griff | Times of Trenton)
(Martin Griff)
PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles missed an opportunity to control their own destiny in the NFC playoff race with Sunday's resounding defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, but the loss may have been costlier for quarterback Mark Sanchez.
Falling to the Seahawks, 24-14, at Lincoln Financial Field and letting virtually any chance of securing the number two seed in the NFC playoffs slip through their fingertips, the Eagles once again find themselves in a precarious position ahead of Sunday's NFC East rematch against the Dallas Cowboys.
The winner of Sunday's game likely will win the NFC East and secure a home game in the playoffs. However, the loser could go from a 9-4 record in Week 15 to missing out on the playoffs altogether.
For the Eagles, the question of who will be the team's starting quarterback if they make the postseason was kept alive for debate when Sanchez completed 10 of 20 passes for only 90 yards. He threw two touchdown passes and one interception, and was sacked three times. Nick Foles, recuperating from a shoulder injury, is back in the discussion.
Prior to Sunday, the former Jets quarterback was in the midst of authoring one of the great redemption stories in the NFL this season after posting career-highs in completion percentage and passer rating.
He also was coming off his first turnover-free game of the season in a 33-10 blowout victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.
Before Suday's game, it was believed that even when Foles returned to health, Sanchez was playing well enough to remain the starting quarterback for the playoffs — if the the Eagles are fortunate enough to make it that far.
Now, with Foles entering his seventh week since suffering a broken clavicle against the Houston Texans, the idea of sticking with Sanchez isn't as open and shut as was once thought. Sanchez didn't just struggle against Seattle, his flaws were brought to the forefront.
He had a terrible miscommunication for the second consecutive game with receiver Riley Cooper, and that led to an interception. He struggled to connect with Cooper, Jordan Matthews and Jeremy Maclin on the long ball in the December wind. The Eagles' longest drive of the day was seven plays and they held the ball for just 18 minutes, 4 seconds.
"We expected to be able to do a lot of things better," Sanchez said. "We came in very confident and I thought we had a great game plan, but we just didn't play very well."
With 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, Foles certainly did not set the world on fire in his eight starts this season. However, the third-year quarterback spent a majority of the time playing behind as many as four backups on the offensive line.
His 59.8 percent completion percentage actually rose four points in his final two starts and he showed glimpses against the Giants and Arizona Cardinals of reverting back to his 2013 form, when he threw 27 TD passes and two interceptions.
Foles is scheduled to have his second follow-up examination this week after his doctor's appointment last week showed that his broken bone is healing. A clean bill of health may be all that stands between Foles and a return to the starting lineup — something that seemed unfathomable as recently as Sunday morning.
In all likelihood, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly won't need to make a decision on his starting quarterback for at least another week. But after Sanchez' lackluster effort, the decision on who will take the reigns as early as Week 16 against the Washington Redskins might have become more difficult.
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