More lessons learned about Foles

THE INTERCEPTION finally came, nearly 3 minutes into the second quarter of the 13th game of the 2013 season. It also came in the middle of a snowstorm. Nick Foles airmailed a throw and Detroit's Chris Houston snatched it out of a flake-filled sky and that was that. Foles had thrown 237 straight passes without an interception, the eighth-longest streak in NFL history, and it was over.

Now what?

It is the question we have spent the entire season asking - and Foles has answered every time. After losing the job this summer to Michael Vick . . . after the horrendous game against Dallas . . . after the concussion . . . Foles has always had a reply.

Now, in wretched weather, after an awful first half, after trailing in the game by 14-0 in the third quarter, Foles came back and finished with more than respectable numbers: 11-for-22 for 179 yards and a touchdown. It would have been two touchdowns if tight end Brent Celek had not chosen to give himself up by sliding at the 10-yard line, kicking up a bunch of snow and assuring that the Eagles could kneel out the final 80 seconds of the game.

In other words, Foles passed another test, between the weather and the deficit and the interception.

"It's like I told you all before, they happen," Foles said. "If you let, on any level, one interception defeat you, you cannot play this game . . .

"I know a lot of hype has been made for the touchdown/interception ratio [now 20/1] that I don't even worry about. I care about the wins. I learn from it. It's an interception. I am going to move forward and I can't wait to get back on the field and throw a touchdown, make a big play, because that's what the teammates look at. They look at the quarterback in that situation to see how I respond."

A 44-yard completion to Riley Cooper in the third quarter seemed to shake the offense out of its lethargy. Right after that, Foles completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson. From there, Foles did a lot of handing off to LeSean McCoy and Chris Polk, and a lot of learning.

"Playing in this kind of environment, you learn a lot," he said. "You learn a lot about your team, you learn a lot about how dealing with the environment is important. Having the ability to go out there and throw in the snow with all of that definitely made me mature as a player."

With that, Foles has checked off another box.

Blog: philly.com/DNL