In his Monday afternoon press conference following the Eagles' 30-23 win against the Rams, head coach Doug Pederson announced that quarterback Nick Foles will start this Sunday against the Houston Texans.
Quarterback Carson Wentz, who made the trip to Los Angeles, sat out of Sunday's game with what Pederson called a stress injury in his back. Pederson said Wentz will not go on the Injured Reserve list and did not name a starter beyond this week.
"Where Carson is health-wise and just another week of rest for Carson will help him, we made the decision to go forward with Nick," Pederson said.
In relief, Foles had an impressive night in Los Angeles, completing 24 of 31 passes for 240 yards. The Eagles' three offensive touchdowns came on the ground and Foles had just one mistake in a fourth-quarter interception.
Pederson said the team learned more positive news about Wentz's injury and now deem him to be week to week with his injury. He said that "obviously" Wentz will be the starting quarterback when he's healthy but did not give a timetable for when that could be.
"We continue to gather information like we do on all our athletes and all our players," Pederson said. "The information is favorable and it's something that was positive for him, positive for us. But at the same time, we need to make sure he's 100 percent or better before we put him back out there but for now he's listed as week to week and we'll go from there."
It was tough for Wentz to be on the sideline for last night's game, Pederson said, as it was at the end of last season. But as competitive as Wentz is, Pederson complimented his engaging and supportive demeanor while sitting out, saying that he "gives so much." He will be a massive part of creating a game plan for Foles this week.
Foles passed his first test Sunday night with an impressive performance against a tough defense on the road. He will need another one against the Texans on Sunday at the Linc if the Eagles hope to make a playoff push. Pederson did not name a Week 17 starter and did not want to speculate on who would start going forward if the Eagles qualified for the playoffs.
"That's a bridge we'll cross when we get there, we still have a lot of football left, but right now, we're just going to stay committed to this week," Pederson said. "I'm not going to look any further than the Houston Texans this week and one day I'm sure we'll cross that bridge."
