There was a point in Nick Foles’ career when he was an MVP candidate.
That was only five seasons ago in his first stint with the Philadelphia Eagles when he threw for 27 touchdowns against just two picks under the guidance of Chip Kelly. After a whirlwind few seasons as a journeyman, Foles is back in the saddle with the Eagles, and he’s now the second favorite for the Super Bowl LII MVP odds. BetDSI Sportsbook has released its early Nick Foles Super Bowl MVP odds.
Nick Foles Super Bowl MVP Odds
Yes +360
No -500
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The story of Nick Foles is an interesting one for sure. He’s only 29 years old and still has plenty of good years in him, but he was seriously contemplating retirement after losing the starting quarterback job with the Eagles in 2014, and again with the Rams in 2015. Instead of hanging up the cleats, he signed on to be Alex Smith’s backup in Kansas City for a year, then came back to the City of Brotherly Love to backup to Carson Wentz.
Though Foles has played in 49 regular season games, most assumed he was never going to see the field for any serious action again in his career, especially not while playing under Wentz. However, the NFL is a “next man up” league, and Foles was that guy when Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14.
Now, Foles is a starter again and playing some of the best football of his life. He’s got the Eagles in the Super Bowl, and he can make a compelling case to get a shot as a starting quarterback on another team if he can beat the Patriots.
The Case for Nick Foles Super Bowl MVP Odds
Though the numbers aren’t as staggering as you might think, quarterbacks do win the majority of Super Bowl MVP awards. The winning quarterback has gone on to win Super Bowl MVP 28 times in 51 Super Bowls, and you have to think that Foles is going to be instrumental in any prospective upset of the Patriots.
Though there isn’t a formal NFC Championship Game MVP, Foles would have surely won that honor last week against the Vikings. Facing one of the best defenses in the NFL, Foles put 38 points on the board, throwing for 352 yards and three touchdowns.
Foles has always done a great job of not screwing things up, tossing interceptions on just 2.1 percent of his throws in the regular season during his career. He’s also never thrown a pick in three postseason games.
Nine men who started the season on their respective teams’ benches went on to guide their team to the Super Bowl. Five of the nine went on to win Super Bowl MVP honors.
The most recent of those? Tom Brady.
The Case against Nick Foles Super Bowl 52 MVP Odds
Many of these backup quarterbacks who have gone on to win Super Bowls either had been there before or had plenty of time to get acclimated to their surroundings before being cast into the starting lineup. Rare is the team that can survive losing its quarterback late in the season.
In fact, in the 52-year history of the Super Bowl, only once before had a team reached the big game after losing a starting quarterback that won at least 11 games. The Giants lost Phil Simms in Week 15 to a broken foot, paving the way for Jeff Hostetler to come in and ultimately New York to a Lombardi Trophy.
Old school storytellers will try to convince you that Hostetler played the game of his life against the Bills in Super Bowl XXV. However, he only went 20-for-32 for 222 yards with a touchdown, and merely didn’t screw the game up; Scott Norwood did that for him.
Hostetler didn’t claim Super Bowl XXV MVP honors as that honor went to Ottis Anderson after he ran for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Foles is a better quarterback than Hostetler was, but the fact remains that he’s fighting an uphill battle against the best team in the NFL. Upsets like this don’t generally happen because of great quarterback play, and Foles is going to have a tough time breaking that script on Super Sunday.
