FOXBORO, Mass. - It was a scary moment early in the second quarter of Thursday night's game when Nick Foles got hit on his throwing arm and grabbed for it in pain.
The Eagles' insurance policy for Carson Wentz only works if Foles is healthy.
Luckily for the Eagles, Foles seems to think his right shoulder strain isn't serious and is "optimistic" about it. He hopes to be back on the field at practice this weekend (the Eagles practice Sunday) and back playing again this preseason.
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"It's just the shoulder," Foles said. "It sort of got jarred in a funny way as I was following through. It feels good. We'll check it out tomorrow more thoroughly."
The reigning Super Bowl MVP will be at the NovaCare Complex Friday morning for treatment. He wouldn't say whether or not an MRI is in his future, saying he'll leave it up to the trainers.
Head coach Doug Pederson wanted to get Foles back into the game for one more series at Gillette Stadium, but the injury ruined that possibility.
The last time Foles played the Patriots, he was pretty good. Remember when he threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns in Super Bowl LII before being handed an MVP trophy?
That didn't happen again. Foles wasn't very good against the Patriots this time around. He completed just 3 of 9 passes for 44 yards and really struggled to get a rhythm. It wasn't just Foles; the entire first unit struggled to get going.
"I would have like to have put some points on the board with the starting crew, but we didn't," Foles said. "We'll keep improving. We know what it takes to get better, we just have to do it."
Foles, 29, is hoping he'll get another chance to play this preseason and fix the errors.
"It would mean a lot," he said. "It would mean I'd be back on the playing field with the guys. That's my goal. That's what I feel like is going to happen. But once again, you sort of have to go through the proper channels and proper protocols with all of this. I'll find out more information tomorrow and go from there."
After the painful injury - he said it "wasn't the best feeling" - Foles went into a blue popup tent on the sideline to be checked out by trainers. While he didn't re-enter the game, it was seemingly a good sign when he didn't leave the sideline to go into the locker room. Instead, he watched the remainder of the 37-20 loss with a baseball cap on his head (see game breakdown).
Foles missed the entire 2017 preseason with an elbow injury, but in that season, he wasn't needed to play significant time until Wentz went down in December.
If Foles can't play again over the next two preseason games, would he be ready to play in the opener if Wentz isn't ready to return?
"I'm not even going to go there," Foles said. "We're just going to live in the moment and sort of go day to day. I'm going to do everything I can to get back on the field and hopefully practice the first day we get back practicing and be ready to roll."
