We know what the Philadelphia Eagles have in Michael Vick, but Sunday's 36-21 win over the New York Giants gave us a closer look at Nick Foles.
With Vick sidelined by a hamstring injury, Foles calmly directed the Eagles to 17 second-half points in a scheme that relied on his arm and took advantage of a Giants defense lost at sea.
Eagles coach Chip Kelly capably played to his backup quarterback's strengths. While Vick crushed New York with his legs, Foles picked on Big Blue's secondary with a rash of passes toward the sideline. We saw three, sometimes four wideouts flooding areas of the field, and the Giants had no answer for it.
You can't ask much more from your second-string quarterback.
Here's what else we learned:
- Because of this Eagles defense, many remote controls have been rifled through TV screens all across Philly this autumn. On Sunday, no such violence. The Eagles harassed Eli Manning into three fourth-quarter interceptions and put their offense in a position to pile up points late.
- Before Vick was injured, Giants running back David Wilson left the game with a neck injury and didn't return. FoxSports.com's Mike Garafolo reported the injury isn't believed to be serious, with Wilson being held out for precautionary reasons. Wilson later tweeted that he passed all tests on his injured neck and will be back next week.
- The Giants went after LeSean McCoy from the start, almost ignoring Vick at the mesh point. The Eagles countered with a handful of designed runs for Vick, who wound up with 79 yards on the ground. McCoy finished with just 46 yards on 20 carries, so it's pick your poison when it comes to defending Philly's run game.
- It's stunning to talk about the Giants earning (earning?) a top-five pick in the draft, but that's exactly where they're headed right now.
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