With some time to kill before the offseason gets into full swing with free agency and the draft, we are looking back at the past decade that just recently came to a close. This article will discuss the quarterbacks that were in Philadelphia over the course of the past 10 seasons.
Between 2010-2019, the Eagles had 15 quarterbacks on the 53-man roster at some point. With a list that ranks the top-10 players, that means if you didn't make it inside the top-10 then you probably aren't very good. Apologies to Mike Kafka, Trent Edwards, Thad Lewis, Stephen Morris, and Chase Daniel, but their play (or lack of play) put them at the bottom of this barrel. The following are the 10 quarterbacks who showed to be recognized:
10) Matt Barkley
He played in just four regular season games for the Eagles in two seasons. He threw for 300 yards, but was picked off four times and failed to get a touchdown pass. Barkley was a former college star and there was some hope that he could develop while he was the backup and third-string quarterback in Philly, but that just never ended up happening.
9) Vince Young
Mr. DreamTeam was pressed into starting three games for the Birds in 2011, and played in six games total. He passed for 866 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was able to help lead the team to one win in his three starts, which is why he barely squeezes ahead of Barkley on this list.
8) Josh McCown
McCown appeared in three regular season games for the Eagles in 2019, but his biggest opportunity came in the Wildcard Round. With Carson Wentz knocked out of the game with a concussion, the Eagles head to rely on McCown to come away with a win. Unfortunately he couldn't pull through with a win, but he was able to tough the game out with a torn hamstring. Even with the hamstring injury, he completed 75% of his passes and ran for 23 yards. He gained a lot of respect in the Eagles locker room as the backup the entire season, and likely has a coaching future in front of him if he wants to start that path.
7) Nate Sudfeld
Sudfeld has only had one game game where he had plenty of playing time, and that was Week 17 of 2017. He completed 82.6% of his passes in that game, which is the 4th-best percentage in a game in team history. Overall in his Eagles career, he has 156 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. His future with the team is unclear, but there's still a chance he returns to be Carson Wentz's backup in the years to come.
6) Kevin Kolb
Kolb was supposed to be the successor of Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia. When the time came for him to take the reins, he suffered an injury and essentially never had a chance to retake the throne. In 19 games with the Eagles, Kolb threw for 2,082 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
With the emergence of Michael Vick, Kolb was no longer needed. His potential did allow the Eagles to grab Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie AND a 2nd round pick, so that also helped factor into his higher than deserved ranking.
5) Mark Sanchez
The middle of the decade was not very fun for Eagles fans, as they had to watch Mark Sanchez start double-digit amount of games. His most memorable game was when he led the Eagles to a 24-point win over the Carolina Panthers, which led to some Sanchez-mania to unfold; after that though he didn't show much. In total he played in 13 games with the team, passing for 3,034 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
His 64.08 completion percentage in 2014 is still the 3rd-highest in a season in team history, and he set a team-record with 37 completions against the Redskins in 2014 (a record that was later tied).
4) Sam Bradford
There were some flashes shown by Bradford in 2015, but he ultimately became a Charlie checkdown and offered nothing better than what a backup or cheaper quarterback could offer. He played and started 14 games that season, leading the Eagles to a 7-7 record. He threw for 3,725 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
At the time, Bradford threw the 4th-most passing yards in a season in Eagles history. He set a few team records too, including: most completions in a season (346 - has since been broken), best completion percentage in a season (65.03% - has since been broken), most completions in a game (37 - tied with Sanchez). He also has the best completion percentage in a career as an Eagle (65%), and the 5th-best QB Rating in an Eagles QB's career (86.4).
3) Michael Vick
Vick came onto the scene in 2010 when he took over for Kevin Kolb and led the Eagles to become NFC East Champs. He remained the Eagles starter (when healthy) until 2013, and in that time he rose up the quarterback ranks in team history very quickly. In 54 total games with the Eagles, Vick threw for 9,984 yards, 57 touchdowns and 33 interceptions; he added 1,998 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
When Vick's time with the Eagles came to an end, he ranked 6th in franchise history in passing yards, 7th in passing touchdowns, 5th in completions, 2nd in QB rating, and 3rd in completion percentage; He also owned two of the top nine highest passing yard games in team history, and has the 3rd most rushing yards by a quarterback (behind Donovan McNabb and Randall Cunningham). His play as an Eagle turned the Eagles into an offensive-powerhouse in the early part of the decade.
2) Carson Wentz
The Eagles moved up all the way to the 2nd overall pick in the 2016 Draft because they knew the potential Wentz had as a franchise quarterback. He has certainly showed that his play will never be a problem; it's only his health that will be a question mark and possibly hinder him as his career goes on.
In just four seasons, Wentz has climbed up Eagles history charts rather quickly, and has also set multiple single-season records. The single-season team records he has broken include: passing yards in a season (4,039 - 1st Eagle in history to throw for over 4,000 yards), pass attempts in a season (607), pass completions in a season (388), best completion percentage in a season (69.58%), passing touchdowns in a season (33). Wentz has played in only 54 career games, and already has the 5th-most passing yards (14,191), 5th-most touchdowns (97), 4th-most completions (1,311), 2nd-best completion percentage (63.8%), and 2nd-best QB Rating (92.7) in Eagles history.
Wentz would have been the #1 quarterback on this list if it wasn't for the sorcery the guy ahead of him did at the position. Rest assured, Wentz will likely be the #1 quarterback for the Eagles in the 2020s decade.
1) Nick Foles
Foles was set to be the backup in 2013, and we all know how that story unfolded. When Chip Kelly shipped him out in 2015, it left a lot of question marks on where Foles ranked in the annals of Eagles history. Then Foles returned once again in 2017 and expected to be the backup; and once again we all know how that story unfolded. Any time Foles was in an Eagles uniform, he seemed to create some magic and set franchise and league records. While in Philadelphia, St. Nick set or tied five NFL records: tied for most consecutive completions in a single game (25), tied for most touchdowns in a single game (7), highest passer rating in NFL playoff history with 125+ attempts (113.2), highest completion percentage in single playoff with 100+ attempts (72.6), and highest completion percentage in NFL Playoff history with 100+ attempts (71.9).
Like Wentz, Foles climbed up Eagles history charts rather quickly, and has also set multiple single-season records. The single-season team records he has broken include: Best QB Rating (119.2), fewest interceptions in a season (two), and lowest interception percentage (0.63%). He also hold single game records like: most passing yards in a game (471), most pass attempts in a game (62), most passing touchdowns in a game (seven), and best completion percentage in a game (84.8%). As far as total franchise history, Foles ranks 9th in passing yards (8,703), 8th in touchdown passes (58), 7th in completions (748), best in QB rating (93.2), and 3rd-best in completion percentage (62.9%).
What set Foles apart from Wentz to become the best quarterback of the 2010s for the Eagles was his historic playoff run that resulted in the Eagles winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history, and Foles winning Super Bowl MVP for his otherworldly performance on the world's biggest stage.
Comments