While there are a few players who deserve the "Pickup of the Week" title, it's hard not to discount Nick Foles after coming close to breaking the record for most touchdown passes in one game. Foles has always been one of those guys who has been on the cusp of being something special, but he has never been able to put it all together. That changed against the Raiders. Which is why he's my must-have option going into Week 10.
Foles' season, stemming all the way back to offseason workouts, has been a roller coaster ride. Back in early OTAs, Foles was looking great. While it's hard to get a gauge on just how well a player performs in shorts and no pads, he was clearly on the path of possibly starting in 2013. Outplaying Michael Vick was almost a daily occurrence. Then once the pads were on, Foles' shot slipped mightily. Vick was just too good and too much of a fit for Chip Kelly's offense. Even though he was bumped to backup, Foles chance at making an impression was far from over.
Foles got his chance when Vick was knocked out against the Giants with a hamstring injury. Playing in his place, Foles posted strong numbers. 197 passing yards and 2 scores in limited time. Not too shabby. Getting the start in Week 6 against the Buccaneers, Foles posted 296 passing yards and 3 scores. In the last 3 games, Foles had 6 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Set to start against the Cowboys, Foles had a great fantasy matchup, but he fell flat...badly. Foles passed for a mere 80 passing yards, but he also managed to suffer a concussion. A concussion and a healthy Vick put Foles back on the waiver wire for most teams. I figured his time was up. It wasn't.
The next week against the Giants, Vick's injury problems resurfaced and he was lost in the second quarter. Rookie Matt Barkley finished out the game. Needless to say, Barkley did nothing to show the coaching staff that maybe he could be an option to turn to with Vick out. Foles, once again, was back on the radar.
Even though Foles was starting against the Raiders, no one figured he would throw 7 touchdown passes. I don't even remember the last time an Eagle had thrown that many in one game. But Foles' day against the Raiders secondary couldn't have gone more smoothly. He had touch on his passes, threaded needles in coverage and, once again, made no interceptions. Foles is now up to 13 total touchdown passes, with no picks. His decision making has obviously improved drastically.
So what do we make of Foles going into Week 10? It's hard not considering him a QB1, even though I listed him as a QB2 in my waiver wire pickups article. He'll be playing a Packers Defense who gives up 22 fantasy points a game to quarterbacks. But the Packers are also expected to lose Aaron Rodgers for the next few weeks due with a possible crack in his collarbone. While losing Rodgers helps the Eagles, Foles' numbers would have been padded as Rodgers could have forced the Eagles to pass more than usual to keep up with such an offense.
Regardless, it's hard not to consider Foles as a starting option with Tom Brady and the Patriots on bye this week. I'd consider Foles a pick up no matter who your starting quarterback is. While the Eagles don't stand much of a shot at making the playoffs, the rest of the season could be Foles' chance to show the Eagles that maybe he does deserve a chance to be in the mix for a starting job in 2014.