It was only a matter of time. Sam Bradford made it through the first half of the season without suffering an injury, but how much longer could the fragile Eagles quarterback remain upright behind a makeshift offensive line?
If you had Week 10 in the ‘when will Sam Bradford be injured’ pool, please step forward to claim your prize. It was a vicious hit from Miami Dolphins linebacker Chris McCain that knocked Bradford from the game. He landed awkwardly on his left shoulder and was later diagnosed with both a sprained AC joint in his shoulder and a severe concussion.
Bradford has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and early indications are that he will miss the game against Detroit on Thanksgiving. That would give him 21 days to recover for the Week 13 game against the (currently) undefeated New England Patriots.
That is, assuming he is still the starter when he returns from his injury.
Here in Philadelphia, we’ve seen this before. Backup quarterbacks are nothing new. This is the seventh consecutive season where the Eagles’ starting quarterback has missed games with an injury. It’ll be the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. In fact, just four times since 1991 has the Eagles’ starting quarterback started all 16 games, and all four were by Donovan McNabb.
Last year, Mark Sanchez started the final eight games of the season after Nick Foles broke his collarbone against the Houston Texans on November 2nd. Sanchez led the Eagles to a 4-4 mark, providing some of the season’s top moments. He engineered a Monday Night Football blowout victory over the eventual NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, as well as a Thanksgiving massacre over the Dallas Cowboys. But he also will be remembered for his 11 interceptions, notably one in the final minutes to lead to a season-ending loss against the Washington Redskins in Week 16.
Overall, Sanchez played about the same as Foles in 2014. Personally, I think he played a little bit better. Their statistics were virtually identical, but the big telling point to me is that Sanchez was able to lead the Eagles to 27.2 offensive points per game during his half-season. Foles led the Eagles to just 22.1 offensive points per game. Sanchez also played tougher defenses, like Carolina and Seattle, although Foles had to play without Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce, plus an ineffective LeSean McCoy.
Through the first half of this season, Bradford, like Foles in 2014, has been a major disappointment. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, including three in the end zone, this season. His yards per attempt (6.9) is mediocre. His passer rating (82.4) is mediocre. He hasn’t been able to put together anything resembling a complete performance. His only saving grace was that he remained upright. And now he’s injured.
With Sanchez, the Eagles’ best-case scenario is a repeat of 2006, when veteran Jeff Garcia guided the Eagles from a 5-5 record to a surprising NFC East division title. Now, Sanchez may only get two starts to show that he’s improved from his late-season stint in 2014.
The schedule is extremely favorable, with a home game against Tampa Bay (4-5) and a road Thanksgiving contest against the Detroit Lions (2-7). Even with Sanchez, the Eagles should be able to win both of those games. Then again, that’s what we all expected from Bradford against Miami on Sunday.
Is there any scenario where Sanchez takes the starting job from Bradford if he lights it up over the next two weeks? I think so. I think Kelly will look for almost any reason he can to insert Bradford back onto the field, but if Sanchez turns in a pair of performances like last year against Carolina and Dallas (the Thanksgiving game), he’s earned the right to keep playing as long as he’s hot. The Eagles can simply use the excuse that Bradford isn’t completely healthy yet.
Sanchez, a first-round pick in 2009, has shown that he can produce at a high level for limited stretches in a row. He’s very likely not the long-term answer at quarterback, but is Sam Bradford? He’s probably not either. If Sanchez lights it up over the next few weeks, the Eagles will have a very good chance of reaching the playoffs.
Despite the Eagles’ struggles so far this season, they’re still just half a game back in the division race. Their 4-5 record means they control their own destiny, and their tiebreaker over the Giants is looming larger with each passing week. While no team wants to lose their starting quarterback to a potentially serious injury, the Eagles will see almost no performance decrease from Bradford to Sanchez.
Bradford wasn’t getting the job done over the first nine games of the season. Like the first five years of his career, he just wasn’t good enough. Now it’s time to see if Sanchez can be good enough. The Eagles’ season, and their playoff hopes, depend on it.
