Weekend winners
Nick Bleepin’ Foles. Dude was aces. Aces against the best defense in the NFC. He finished 26-of-33 for 352 and three scores. He completed his first nine throws of the second half as the Eagles salted away the runaway, and that was with Torrey Smith dropping two deep catchable deep throws and a wide-open Trey Burton inexplicably not getting both feet in bounds on a sideline throw. It was unbelievable and quite possibly one of the five best postseason QB efforts (non-Super Bowl edition) of all-time. (Side question here: Unlike the questions the Vikings now face about Case Keenum and the thought of giving him a cap-crippling $23 million raise with the franchise tag, think of the glorious place the Eagles find themselves in at quarterback. Carson Wentz is unquestionally the guy. He has three more years on his rookie contract which allows the Eagles amazing flexibility in its cap machinations. Foles will never be hotter. Never. He’s 29, completed 77 percent of his passes with no interceptions in two postseason wins and is headed to the Super Bowl, and he has a very intriguing contract for folks looking to trade for him. If the Eagles choose to keep him he’s under contract through 2018 for a $7.6 million cap hit. If they look to deal him, Foles has more value in the trade because of a loophole in his contract. What was designed to give Foles flexibility and opt out of the deal after the 2018 season could mean a team gets a starting QB through 2021 for $7.6 million next year and a $6.1 million cap hit in 2019, 2020 and 2021. If you are Denver, you have to ask yourself with a defense this good and a window closing in this league like few others, would you rather have Nick Foles or Josh Allen with the No. 5 pick next spring?)
Speaking of that let’s just say everything Eagles won the weekend. A TD march on the game’s first possession aside, Philadelphia was unbelievable on the field Sunday. Much credit to the players. Simply other worldly. Man a 38-7 whipping was not expected – not when the total points for the game was 39 friends – and much credit to a game plan on each side that was executed flawlessly. Now know this: Whomever is running the Eagles front office needs to take a bow. Unless you have Tom Brady, how could you expect to get to the playoffs with season-ending injuries to a) your starting QB (Carson Wentz) who was on pace to be a top-three MVP finisher; b) your middle linebacker (Jordan Hicks) who called your defensive set; c) your potential Hall of Fame and nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle (Jason Peters); d) your third-down back (Darren Sproles) who is great in this system and the return game; e) your kicker (Caleb Sturgis) and f) a Pro Bowl special-teams player (Chris Maragos). This team got to the playoffs and is now one win from the franchise’s first Super Bowl win.)
Jacksonville’s young roster. Yes, Doug Marrone looked lost on the sideline at times. Yes, there was some confusion and the discussion about the officiating conspiracy will get discussed. But the way that young team fought and battled, and the real emotion Fournette and Bortles and so many others showed after the game was impressive despite the final outcome. Kudos Jags.
Danny Amendola. Dude has been hanging around, hanging around, hanging around. Injuries come and go, new speedy receivers come to Foxboro almost very year, and there’s Amendola just running routes and getting open. He caught two TDs Sunday – and made a slew of amazing catches. Also of note, he’s smooching former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo. Life is good, Danny. Life is good.