Nick Foles' inside story of how Eagles' 'Philly Special' call was 6 years in the making

PHILADELPHIA − Nick Foles will always be known for the "Philly Special" play during the Super Bowl.

Heck, there's a statue outside Lincoln Financial Field of Foles suggesting the famous play to former head coach Doug Pederson on the sideline.

It came at the end of the first half during the Super Bowl in Feb. 2018, and it spurred the Eagles on to a 41-33 win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It's the only Super Bowl win in franchise history.

But Foles said Monday during his official retirement press conference that the impetus for the play's success came nearly six years earlier, in the spring of 2012. Back then, Pederson was the Eagles quarterbacks coach and he was in Austin, Texas working out Foles for the upcoming NFL draft.

Foles said he remembers that day as cold, rainy and windy, and Pederson asked him to do "a seven step drop off of play action ... and throw a divide route."

Foles said he didn't know what a "divide route" was, so Pederson went about 65 yards down the field and told Foles to throw it to him. Foles said the ball started wobbling and the wind made it fall like 10 yards short.

"I remember thinking like, Oh, I'm done. It's over,'" Foles said. "(Pederson) goes, 'Hey, one more time. One more time.'

"I did it. I cut the wind. Perfect spiral right over his shoulder, perfect, like 60-65 yards in the air. And a couple of days later, I got a call from the Philadelphia Eagles , saying they wanted to bring me up here on a trip, and then ultimately drafting me.

"I have to believe that moment right there with Doug, playing for Doug ... culminated in me going over to him in the Super Bowl on 4th-and-1 on the timeout, and asking, 'You want Philly, Philly.'"

Then Foles described what made him suggest the play in the first place.

"We had this play called Speed Option called," Foles said. "And I think all of us were like, 'Oh no. So please do this.' We called time out. And I think that (speed option) play didn't look good all week, and I love Doug, and I love our coaches, but I'm still shocked. I mean, last time I ran that (speed option) well was at Wesley High School, so it probably wasn't gonna work.

"I think that triggered something inside me like, 'Philly Special is pretty good, right here? Like, it'll work.' So I ran over there and asked for the Philly Philly, and Doug said, 'Yeah, let's do it.'"

But Foles had to sell it. So he kept telling himself as he went back onto the field. "Do not smile. Do not smile. Just act serious, because the players are watching the quarterback run from the side and not smiling. So I also knew I had to put on an act."

Sure enough, Foles got to the line of scrimmage, started waving his arms, and then went out wide as Corey Clement took the snap, flipped to tight end Trey Burton, who threw a perfect pass to Foles in the end zone.

"I knew it was gonna work. I knew we were ready for it," Foles said. "I knew Trey was gonna throw it. Thank goodness Trey threw an amazing ball."

Foles was the Eagles' third-round pick in 2012. He became a starter late that season, then again midway through the 2013 season, and had one of the best seasons for a quarterback in NFL history. He had a passer rating of 119 that year, throwing 27 touchdown passes to 2 interceptions.

That included a game against the Raiders when Foles tied an NFL record with 7 touchdown passes in the Eagles' 49-20 win.

Foles played two stints for the Eagles, from 2012-14, and again from 2017-18. In the spring of 2015, former coach Chip Kelly traded Foles to the then-St. Louis Rams. Foles said he lost his love for football during that season and contemplated retirement. He then signed with the Chiefs as a backup in 2016, with Andy Reid as coach. Reid was the Eagles coach in 2012 when Foles was drafted.

The Eagles signed Foles to be Carson Wentz's backup in 2017. But Wentz tore his ACL that December and Foles took over, all the way to the Super Bowl. In all, Foles played for six teams in a career that lasted through the 2022 season. He threw for 14,227 yards, with 82 touchdowns and 47 INTs.

But his best seasons, by far, were with the Eagles, who honored him at halftime of their game Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons.

"I was just meant to play here, and I'm so grateful," Foles said. "To have been a part of these teams, and I'm grateful to be a part of the history here. It's made me a better person playing here, but I wouldn't be who I am today without those other stops."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl on Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Nick Foles' inside story of how Eagles' 'Philly Special' call was 6 years in the making