Philly Sports Jabronis
By Dave Spadaro, Eagles.com
HOUSTON — Mark Sanchez packed up his bag in the visitor’s locker room at NRG Stadium in the aftermath of Sunday’s 31-21 win over Houston with Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” playing from his collection, knowing just how significant a moment it was for him and the Eagles.
He zipped up his bag and was handed a telephone to speak with Peter King from Sports Illustrated. “Hello, Mr. King. Long time since we’ve talked,” Sanchez said.
No doubt about that. Sanchez was a very big deal on Sunday after replacing an injured Nick Foles and completing 15 of 22 passes for 202 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the victory. It was the first time Sanchez had played in a regular-season game since December 30, 2012 when he was the starter for the New York Jets.
So much has changed since then. Sanchez missed all of last season with a shoulder injury suffered in garbage time of a preseason game. The Jets dumped him in March, whereupon he signed a one-year contract with the Eagles the following week.
Now, with Foles out for an undetermined amount of time because of a left shoulder injury – his condition was not updated after the game. Foles left on Sunday after completing 10 of 13 passes for 124 yards, one touchdown and one interception. – Sanchez is back in the saddle as a starting NFL quarterback.
And he’s feeling California Cool with everything.
“The preparation doesn’t change for me. Same routine,” Sanchez said. “I have to always be prepared to play.”
He was certainly prepared on Sunday, and head coach Chip Kelly wasted no time testing Sanchez. On the first snap after Foles went down at the end of the first quarter, Sanchez completed a 52-yard pass to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin running a post pattern. It was a perfect connection that led to an 11-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jordan Matthews.
“I was expecting a handoff or maybe a screen, ease your way in, but you know Coach Kelly, man,” Sanchez said of the aggressive approach early. “I said it after the game, I think to Tony Siragusa, if he was a basketball coach he’d bring me off the bench and have me shooting 3-pointers. That’s just the way it goes, and you’ve got to be ready.”
The Eagles overcame some major injuries to win on Sunday. In addition to Foles’ injury, the defense lost inside linebacker and team leader DeMeco Ryans with an ankle injury that looked very serious. Right guard Todd Herremans played into the third quarter with his left biceps injury and then left the game with an ankle injury. All of those injuries will be updated later in the week.
For Sanchez, the moment is now to seize upon any opportunity he has to play.
“Nothing changes. How do I prepare to play and how do I prepare to watch a game, it’s the same,” Sanchez said. “I get less reps as the backup, but I’m watching the same amount of film. I’m running drills. I’m taking advantage of the time that I can during the week, and you can’t cut corners or you get caught off-guard there. This league will expose you.”
He looked terrific on Sunday. The tempo was no problem. He made the right reads. He was outstanding. His two interceptions came when Josh Huff had a perfect pass bounce off of his hands and then when wide receiver Riley Cooper appeared to be spun around.
Otherwise, Sanchez was A-OK. And he felt more than good.
“It all comes back quickly. You want to use a phrase like ‘riding a bike,’ but I wish it was that easy,” he said. “That defense didn’t make it that easy. It just felt good to get back out there. It felt good to make some calls, to scramble a little bit, to get hit a little bit. All that stuff is really fun. We’re really fortunate to play like this, and I’m just really proud of the team and did a great job in all three phases.”
The Eagles are going to pick up and go with Sanchez, just as they will do on defense with Ryans down. At 6-2, the team is back in first place in the NFC East with Dallas losing on Sunday for its second consecutive loss.
The players all look to Sanchez now, and they are pleased with what they see.
“I didn’t even know Foles was out,” said left tackle Jason Peters. “He threw that bomb to Maclin, I turned around to congratulate him and it was Sanchez. I didn’t even know the guy was out until I started looking for him and he had went in for X-rays. For him to step in for Foles, it was big time.
“A lot of confidence with Sanchez, a lot of swagger. Even though he’s a humble guy, on the field the confidence from him gets everybody else going. I like him.”
NEWS AND NOTES
The Eagles helped out Sanchez by rushing for 190 yards on the ground as all three running backs – LeSean McCoy (117 yards), Darren Sproles (17) and Chris Polk (50) – chipped in. It was the Eagles’ second-highest rushing output on the season bested only by the 203-yard outing against the Giants. Polk scored on an 8-yard run in the third quarter to cap off a four-play, 70-yard drive (all run plays). In the fourth quarter, the Eagles had their longest drive of the season, an 8:01 show of force, to put the game away.
A major point of emphasis for the Eagles’ offense this week was its performance in the red zone and Sunday’s win was buoyed largely by a perfect 3-for-3 showing inside the Texans’ 20-yard line. The final touchdown, an 8-yard touchdown reception by Maclin on a perfectly placed throw by Sanchez, came following a bold fourth-and-1 call by Chip Kelly. Polk gained enough to move the chains and help the Eagles ice the win.
Houston running back Arian Foster entered Sunday’s game off the heels of a three-touchdown performance against the Titans. He has gained at least 100 yards rushing in six of the seven games he played in this season. After Sunday, make that six out of eight. Foster was held to 56 yards rushing on 15 carries before he exited the game with a groin injury in the third quarter. The Eagles did a phenomenal job of stacking the wall defensively to fend off the Texans’ stretch run play, a staple that the Eagles have seen multiple times this season and have stopped with aplomb.
