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Receiving Corps Again Shares The TD Love

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -If there was a bigger question than all others that Nick Foles had to answer in his first start of the 2017 season at quarterback, it was this: How quickly could he establish chemistry with his receiving corps after having taken only a week of practice reps with them?

Answer: Oh, about a drive or two.

Foles spread the football around liberally in a four-passing-touchdown day, tossing scoring strikes to, in order, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, tight end Zach Ertz, tight end Trey Burton, and wide receiver Nelson Agholor in the Eagles' 34-29 win on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

"We all trust Nick and he trusts us," said Agholor, who now has 55 receptions, 722 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. "I'm just thankful for the opportunities. We're just out there doing our jobs."

Agholor, Jeffery, and Ertz each have at least eight touchdown receptions, the first time in franchise history the Eagles have had three players with at least eight scoring catches in a single season. On Sunday, Agholor was targeted nine times and delivered seven catches for 59 yards and the score; Ertz had six receptions, 56 yards and a touchdown on nine targets; and Jeffery, targeted 10 times, delivered four receptions for 49 yards and the touchdown.

Clearly, chemistry is not an issue with the new starting quarterback and the Eagles' pass-catching corps.

"Not at all," said Burton, who scored his third touchdown in two games and his fifth of the season. "Nick just stepped in and we played ball. He's a great quarterback. I don't think anyone thought there would be a problem with chemistry. We worked hard in practice during the week and it paid off."

The spread-it-around approach has served the Eagles well all season. Defenses haven't been able to focus their attention on one, two, or even three of the receivers. The Eagles are able to create favorable matchups and the quarterbacks, first Carson Wentz and now Foles, have done a superb job of taking advantage of those one-on-one matchups.

"Nick was Nick out there," Jeffery said. "He put the ball where it needed to be and we made the catches. That's the way it is supposed to work."

How effective have the Eagles been spreading the football around? The tight ends - Ertz (8), Burton (5), and Brent Celek (1)-- have combined for 14 touchdown receptions, the most by a group of Eagles' tight ends in a single season in franchise history.

"We have a lot of great playmakers here and we're taking advantage of the chances we get," Ertz said. "We're just trying to do our part, to keep things rolling. We think we can get open against defenses and make big plays and we've been doing it all year."

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants to move to 12-2 on the season. The victory also helped the team secure a first-round bye for the playoffs.

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