BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) – The path Nick Foles has taken, with all the trials and tribulations, successes and setbacks, led to his hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Throw in the Rozelle Trophy as Super Bowl MVP, and it was quite a feat for a guy who has gone from starter to castoff, then journeyman and backup. And now to the summit of his sport.
How did it happen? Oh, sure, there was the mid-December injury to rising star Carson Wentz, with Foles stepping in and stepping up. But how, in a breathtaking championship game Sunday night, did he beat Tom Brady at the five-time Super Bowl winner’s specialty, a shootout?
For Foles – and for his Philadelphia Eagles – there is one underlying theme to it all: perseverance.
“The big thing is don’t be afraid to fail,” Foles said sleepless hours after he guided the drive of a lifetime for the winning points in a 41-33 victory over league MVP Brady and the New England Patriots. “In our society, with (social media) it’s a highlight reel. I think when you have a rough day, you’re feeling you can’t – failure is a part of your life. I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t failed a million times.