We all know the Eagles almost ran the Philly Special during the NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Now we know why they didn't.
In his new podcast The Mission of Truth, Foles revealed to his co-host and former Eagle Chris Maragos that the play would have happened if Foles had not suffered a significant rib injury during the game.
"There was a moment in the game that a lot of people don't know where we were running an RPO, I pulled it to throw it, Anthony Barr blitzed and I got speared in the ribs," said Foles. "It missed my rib protector and I took a helmet straight to my left rib cage. I remember hitting the ground. We completed the ball to Alshon Jeffrey and we keep going on the drive but my ribs, it was hard to breath and they were hurting."
"A couple plays later, Doug calls a wristband play which usually are a bit wordier plays or checks. It was the flea-flicker to Torrey Smith. And I'm sitting there so excited to run this play but am like oh my gosh, I don't know if my ribs are alright to throw right now. So I'm taking some deep breathes like alright Lord, here We go. We run the play, Torrey is pretty well covered but I was starting to feel it. There was a rhythm, I was reacting. I throw the ball to Torrey two-on-one. He makes an amazing catch. The ball lands in the perfect spot. That's sort of the background of what went on. My ribs were crushed and were hurting the rest of the game pretty bad"
Later in the game, Doug Pederson called for the Philly Special, but Foles turned it down.
"I don't think it's in the book believe it but this is one that I don't think is there. We were going to run the Philly Special against the Minnesota Vikings. Doug called the play when we were already up 31-7, something like that. I talked to Doug and said we don't need it, we are up by so much let's not waste it. In reality, another reason was I was worried about turning and running out and trying to catch the ball. I didn't know if I'd be able to lift my arm up and turn and catch it because of the rib shot earlier in the game. So, we ran a play where we sent Alshon in motion and I hit him in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. So we are up 38-7 and everyone is happy, I'm happy, but if you watch the play back, watch my drop and watch me throw it. I'm pretty stiff. I barely move, I just sort of turn and fire."
It is unclear how much Foles' injury impacted him two weeks later in the Eagles' Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots, but he did feel well enough to successfully run the Philly Special -- and to win Super Bowl MVP.
