CHICAGO — Nick Foles did it again.
This time it was against the most dominant defense in football, on the road, late in the game with his team’s back against the wall.
He engineered a 12-play, 60-yard drive in the closing minutes and found trade-deadline acquisition Golden Tate for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth down to lift the Philadelphia Eagles over the Chicago Bears 16-15 in a wild-card matchup at Soldier Field. The Eagles advance to play the top-seeded New Orleans Saints in the divisional round Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET.
A Cody Parkey missed field goal from 43 yards out in the final seconds secured the win. Parkey made the original try, but Philly called timeout and successfully iced him.
The Eagles were destroyed by the Saints 48-7 in New Orleans Week 11. Afterward, safety Malcolm Jenkins said he was bothered by the demeanor of the team and that some players appeared to lack fight. That game proved to be a turning point in the season. Philly won five of six after that to finish 9-7. The Eagles snuck into the playoffs thanks to a Chicago win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17.
Foles was a big part of that resurgence. He won three straight to close out the regular season in replacement of Carson Wentz, who was sidelined when a stress fracture was found in his back. Foles was the hottest quarterback in the league during that stretch, ranking first in the NFL in completion percentage (77.0) and passing yards (962) in those three games.
It wasn’t all pretty for Foles against the Bears. He threw a pair of first-half interceptions, but stabilized in the second half. He tossed a touchdown to rookie tight end Dallas Goedert after a key pass interference on Chicago corner Prince Amukamara in the third quarter, then responded to nine straight Chicago points by working the Eagles down the field for the go-ahead score with 56 seconds remaining.
Alshon Jeffery, making his return to Soldier Field for the first time since leaving in free agency after the 2016 season, set the Eagles up with a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line with an 11-yard grab. He ended with six catches for 82 yards.
Tate was acquired from the Detroit Lions in late October for a third-round pick. Given that he is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of season, it wasn’t looking like a super deal, as Tate was pretty quiet during his eight regular-season games in Philly. A go-ahead TD in a playoff victory, however, is making that trade look pretty sweet at the moment.