PHILADELPHIA — With a rookie quarterback and a running back making his first start since high school, the Eagles will try for their first win in two months.
No wonder even the Panthers (2-8) are favored on the road.
The struggling Eagles (3-7) have lost six straight games entering tonight’s matchup against Cam Newton and the Panthers. They won’t have Michael Vick or LeSean McCoy because of concussions, increasing the chances they can go 0 for October and November for the first time in coach Andy Reid’s 14-year tenure.
Oddsmakers have listed the Panthers as 3-point favorites, a rare occurrence for a team with the worst record in the conference. Perhaps the underdog role will get the Eagles going. Nothing else has worked in a season that began with Super Bowl expectations.
“Obviously nobody wants to play the way we’ve been playing, nobody wants to coach the way we’ve been coaching,” Reid said. “We don’t want that. We owe it to each other, we owe it to this city to play better.”
Nick Foles will be under center, making his second start in a row for Vick. Bryce Brown, a seventh-round pick who had just 104 carries in college, takes over for McCoy.
“I expect the other guys to step up and play,” Reid said. “It’s a great opportunity for them. That’s the way you approach it and you cut it loose and you play.”
Foles, a third-round pick, has a chance to show whether he can be Philadelphia’s quarterback of the future. Vick could be part of a massive offseason overhaul.
Foles has been so-so in the past two games, compiling a passer rating of just 58.9. Like Vick, he’s had the misfortune of playing behind a banged-up offensive line that’s missing four of its five starters.
“I’ve felt more comfortable this week at practice, so it’s just trusting myself in the game and getting into a rhythm,” Foles said.