Last year, Mitch Trubisky became one of the trendiest picks among experts for winning NFL MVP. It felt somewhat justified at the time. He was coming off a Pro Bowl alternate campaign. He was entering his second season of Matt Nagy’s QB-friendly offense. While his odds couldn’t be called great, it was at least believable. Then 2019 happened. That obviously won’t happen. So what about Nick Foles?
Chicago Bears fans aren’t likely to buy that idea. Foles has been mostly a backup during his career. He’ll be entering the offense way later than normal with zero personal interaction with his wide receivers. Being able to transform a month of training camp practices into a run at Most Valuable Player in the NFL would be hands-down the craziest thing to ever happen in league history.
Apparently Bill Barnwell of ESPN thinks he at least has a shot at it. Out of low-end starters and high-end backups, Foles is the favorite.
“My favorite from this group: Foles. His likelihood of starting Week 1 in Chicago gives him a clear advantage over everybody else in this group besides Fitzpatrick, who is likely to lose his job in Miami to rookie top-five pick Tua Tagovailoa at some point during the season. Although Foles hasn’t been able to stay healthy to make more than nine consecutive starts as a pro, we know a hot Foles is capable of producing magic, as he did for the Eagles in the second half of 2013 and during the 2017 playoffs. Even oft-injured quarterbacks can stay healthy for that one big season, as Chad Pennington did for the Dolphins in 2008.”
Nick Foles has shown an MVP form before
Barnwell isn’t entirely wrong. Foles has indeed flashed MVP-caliber play before. Most remember 2017 and his run to the Super Bowl. Yet it was in 2013 where he came the closest to actually accomplishing that feat. The Philadelphia Eagles were floundering through the first month of that season, going 1-3. Foles stepped in as the starter at the beginning of October, replacing Michael Vick. He went 8-2, throwing 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions and guided the team into the playoffs at 10-6.
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That is what MVPs do. Elevate their teams to new heights.
So Foles is certainly capable of it. Whether he actually gets there is another story. There’s no guarantee he even wins the starting job this year. The odds continue to get stacked higher and higher against him. No minicamps, no OTAs, and now no preseason. He has a ton of catching up to do and in an offensive system that hasn’t exactly looked coherent the past two years.
Who knows though. Maybe he’s the ingredient it’s been missing.