Reid: Foles Made the Call On Final Touchdown

With the game on the line and two seconds on the clock, it was Nick Foles who decided what play to run, Andy Reid said following the Eagles’ 23-21 victory over the Bucs.

“He wanted that last play,” Reid said. “That’s a play that he wanted. I’m talking about the last play of the game. He called it. He wanted it, and he executed it. He did a great job with it so hats off to him.”

Foles rolled to his right and found Jeremy Maclin near the sideline for the 1-yard touchdown, capping off a 13-play, 64-yard drive.

“He came off and he wanted that play,” Reid said. “It was a play we had in the gameplan in that situation, but that’s the one he liked the best so he was feeling it, and listen, that’s a great thing when your quarterback’s in tune like that. You saw when he came off, he goes ‘Hey I’m feeling this right here.’ And then you saw Marty [Mornhinweg] give him the high-five. That’s what that was all about. He just goes, ‘Hey, that’s an awesome deal.’ That’s a great feeling right there, so I’m proud of the kid.”

Foles went 32-for-51 for 381 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran one in from 10 yards out.

With 7:21 left in the fourth, it looked like the Eagles were headed for their ninth straight loss, down 21-10. But they put together drives of 72 and 64 yards, respectively. Not counting the plays where he spiked the ball, Foles went 10-for-17 for 135 yards on those last two drives.

“How important is it for a young guy? I’d tell you, it’s a step forward for sure,” Reid said. “He’s coming off I thought a positive game against Dallas. He put together a good game here against a defense that’s tough, but he had to battle. I mean it just wasn’t a smooth event. We had our ups and downs, ebb and flows of the game, and he hung with it. Looked like he made people around him better, and himself, he got better.”

For Reid, it was his first win since Sept. 30, and the joy was evident on the coach’s face after the game. While observers might say the game meant nothing, that clearly wasn’t true for Reid, the coaches or the players, who celebrated as soon as Maclin’s catch was ruled a touchdown.

“They’re excited,” Reid said. “You go two months without winning a game in Philadelphia, that’s a tough thing. And so I’m proud of these guys just staying true to themselves and battling like crazy and coming up with a win down here.”

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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