From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

THREE IN – TWO OUT

Two quarterbacks were idle:

1. Sam Bradford and the Eagles were on the team’s Bye Week.
2. Marcus Mariota was sitting out his second straight week with a knee injury.

And three quarterbacks played:

1. Nick Foles
2. Jameis Winston
3. Johnnie Manziel

NICK FOLES

Nick Foles looked comfortable in his role of game-manager as the Rams beat the hapless 49ers 27-6.

Jeff Fisher looked equally comfortable with his three-pronged game plan:

1. Relying on a superior defense that not only kept the opposition out of the end zone for the second consecutive week, but also handed the ball over to the offense in good field position time and again.
2. Having Todd Gurley grind out chunks of yardage – 133 yards on 20 carries and a 71-yard TD gallop – while using up as much clock as possible.
3. Throttling Nick Foles to passing down-field only when necessary – 14-for-23 for 191 yards, one TD and no INTs.

Foles only threw a handful of balls down-field. His big-gainer was a 49-yard connection with Jared Cook that could’ve easily translated into a TD – but didn’t. Later, Foles was credited with a 66-yard TD pass to Tavon Austin, but the throw was a screen pass in the backfield that Austin ran  nearly 70 yards to score.

There were situations like 2nd-and-12 and 3rd-and-seven when Fisher refused to pass for a first down. Instead, he seemed unconcerned about getting a first down. He was content to run the ball straight ahead, use up some clock, and punt on fourth down. He was confident his defense would thwart Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense.

And his strategy worked perfectly.

I went on the record after the Rams beat the Cardinals 24-22 on the road in Arizona five weeks ago, that Nicky Football and the Rams will catch the Cards and win the NFC West.

SIT TIGHT

By the way, to the many Eagles fans out there beating the trade-for-Kaepernick drums, I watched the game live and taped it. I watched a replay three times and have gotta tell ya – Kaepernick stinks. Forget about the fact that his teammates consider him a bad apple, he stinks. He’s not the quarterback to lead the Eagles – or any team – to a Super Bowl crown.

He may have looked like it once, but not anymore.

Eagles fans, sit tight. The Birds will probably win the NFC East, make it to the Playoffs, and lose in the first round. If everything plays out optimally, Sam Bradford will not be the Eagles quarterback next season – nor will Chip Kelly be the coach.

JAMEIS WINSTON

Jameis Winston led the Buccaneers to a 13-3 halftime lead over the first-place Cardinals when:

• Connor Barth kicked a pair of field goals.
• Winston connected with Cameron Brate on a 20-yard TD hookup.

In the second half, just past the midway point of the third quarter, Winston expanded the lead to 20-3 when he burst up the middle from four yards out. At that point, the game was pretty much one-sided.

But then Matt Ryan put together a 10-play, 80-yard drive after the ensuing kickoff and finished the drive with a seven-yard pass to Jacob Tamme. But the third quarter ended with the Bucs still on top at 20-10.

Late in the fourth quarter, the momentum swung. With 4:56 left, Matt Bryant kicked a 24-yarder to trim the lead to 20-13. After the ensuing kickoff, the Bucs moved the ball to their own 40 as the clock reached the two-minute warning.

When played resumed, it was fourth-and-one and the Bucs made a bad decision. Instead of punting, the Bucs went for it. Jameis Winston dropped back to pass, but was sacked at the line of scrimmage and the Falcons took over on downs.

With 1:47 remaining, Matt Ryan drove the Falcons 40 yards to pay dirt by connecting with Julio Jones from eight yards out. Matt Bryant’s PAT tied the score 20-20 with just 0:17 left.

The Bucs took first possession in overtime.

Winston moved the team 68 yards in 15 plays before the Falcons halted the drive. Then Connor Barth kicked a 31-yard field goal to give the Bucs a 23-20 lead.

Matt Ryan tried to move the Falcons, but failed and the Bucs (3-4) celebrated an upset victory over the Falcons (6-2).

WEEK 8 QB CHARTS

Below is a chart showing the cumulative stats for the entire 2015 season thus far.

In addition to being the official Eagles Outsider for BlameMyFather.com, Barry Bowe is also the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Birth of the Birds
• Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
• Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
• Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow