Joe Camporeale – USA TODAY Sports
It was a punch, counter-punch kind of night for Michael Vick and Nick Foles in the Philadelphia Eagles‘ preseason opener against the New England Patriots on Friday night.
Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has insisted all through training camp that what the quarterbacks do through the course of the preseason will determine who lines up under center when the games count in the standings, beginning Sept. 9 against the Washington Redskins.
Vick got the nod against the Patriots and fired an impressive opening salvo in Round 1 of the hotly contested quarterback bout.
The 34-year-old veteran culminated the Eagles’ first offensive possession of the preseason with a perfectly thrown 47-yard touchdown strike to DeSean Jackson, placing the ball perfectly where only his receiver could haul it in. Kelly said Friday that the top two quarterbacks would alternate series in the first quarter with the top offensive unit, but it was Vick who came back out for the team’s second possession.
Vick’s second drive stalled on the Philadelphia 45-yard line, but the message that the battle is on was sent loud and clear. In his two possessions, Vick finished 4-for-5 for 94 yards and a touchdown with a quarterback rating of 158.3.
The Eagles’ third possession of the game was Foles’ first opportunity of the preseason, and he didn’t exactly get the proceedings started on the right foot. On second down, Chandler Jones punched through the Eagles’ offensive line and punched the ball out of Foles’ throwing hand for a fumble — the Patriots recovered.
Foles, though, would recover.
On the Eagles’ next possession, Foles led the offense on a methodical 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive culminating in a eight-yard Bryce Brown touchdown run. When the bell tolled on Foles, the second-year Arizona product finished 5-for-6 for 43 yards and a 96.5 quarterback rating.
If anything can be taken away from Friday night it is that this position battle is nowhere close to being decided. Vick put up all of the flash you’d expect from a veteran quarterback fighting for his NFL livelihood, while Foles showed the ability to move the offense down the field.
Foles will get the start against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night in the second game of the preseason, and it wouldn’t be surprising in the least to see Kelly drag this battle out well beyond the portion of training camp that is open to the media, which happens to come to a close on Wednesday afternoon.
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