Nick Foles is upbeat, confident, and ready for Sunday's NFC Championship Game. Fresh off a 23-for-30 performance in Saturday's win over Atlanta, Foles knows the offense has to be productive against the NFL's No. 1-ranked Minnesota defense.
He expects the offense to be on its game.
"I think the big thing is we've got to go out there and play aggressive," Foles said from his locker at the NovaCare Complex on Friday with a large group of cameras covering him. "We've got to put some points on the board, but at the same time, this is a team game. We want to go out there and move the ball, put points on the board, do all the little things right. Attention to detail, play one play at a time – all the things y'all have heard forever. It really goes back to that. Playing football, playing together, hitting a rhythm.
"All those little things we've got to do."
Foles has been a big story this week, of course, as the national media have told his up-and-down-and-now-up NFL life story. He said he is focused on "the moment" and that means he is knee deep in preparing for the Vikings' defense.
Foles said the Vikings mix their coverages – 50 percent man and 50 percent zone. Minnesota does everything well on defense, which means the Eagles are going to have to be sharp with minimal errors and no giveaways.
"It is, obviously, a very big game, but as a player, you've just got to realize you're playing the same football," Foles said. "You're going out there with your teammates. You're playing a defense. The thing that's different is what it stands for, the stadium is going to be super, super loud and you've got more cameras at your locker and outside. But I think the big thing is to stay calm, not let it get too big and keep an even keel. You just want to go out there and give it everything you have."
Foles expressed how thrilled he is to be back with the Eagles, in Philadelphia, the team that drafted him and the city in which he began his NFL career. Foles was traded after the 2014 season to the Rams as the Eagles acquired quarterback Sam Bradford, and Foles said he "never visualized" this moment when he was dealt by former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly.
"To be here is surreal," Foles said. "When I signed here (in March) it was surreal."
Now, it's real. One win, improbably, separates Foles from the Super Bowl. Sunday means everything.
