The last time Tom Brady and Nick Foles faced off, they combined for 878 passing yards and six TDs in Super Bowl LII, where Foles and the Eagles shocked the Patriots.
Last night Foles got the better of Brady again, though both looked older and more clearly post-prime. It wasn't just their numbers, which can be chalked up to improved defenses and weaker/injured receivers. Brady has thus far dominated the Broncos and Chargers, but has averaged a pedestrian 236/1.7/1 against the Bears, Saints, and Panthers. So a mixed bag, though in fairness, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin haven't been healthy together all season (Week 3 doesn't really count). So maybe a fully functional offense featuring two of the game's 12 best receivers will help lead Brady to top-8 fantasy numbers.
But still--and I'm writing after the game just ended, so no time to read reactions--did Brady not even know what down on his last possession? On fourth down in that situation in any other year, Brady would have been better than 50-50 to convert, but instead through a needlessly tough pass into traffic further downfield. Bad play-calling? Bad execution? Or did Brady think he'd get another shot at it?
On the positive side, it doesn't hurt that Tampa Bay enjoys a fantastic fantasy playoff schedule, and along the way gets enough soft defenses to pad most QBs' stats. But for me, the verdict is still out on whether Brady can come close to Jameis Winston's 2019 numbers--or whether he'll even be expected to once Leonard Fournette can reclaim his role in a capable backfield tandem with Ronald Jones.
Last night #5 receiver Tyler Johnson flashed early, and Cameron Brate stepped up as expected. Rob Gronkowski might end up being a step slower all year; when everyone's healthy, he might not be more than the sixth option on offense, particularly if Brate steps into the O.J. Howard role.
Meanwhile, Foles was bad. This entire offense is geared around an underachieving David Montgomery and offensive crutch Allen Robinson. Foles' best hope is as a game manager trying to keep his team's defense fresh. Suppose I should give him credit for limiting turnovers, but he looks like a guy who could be pulled at anytime. And if you remove the final three minutes of the first half, he threw for 178 yards with an interception. While it's not fair to ignore Chicago capitalizing on that late-second-quarter Bucs turnover, it is fair to judge Foles' performance as a minor disaster for 57 minutes.
I will say Montgomery serving as a Foles safety valve--a role a healthy Tarik Cohen would have played at times--will be a boon for patient fantasy managers. As many of you know, I've been waiting for Montgomery to pay big dividends based on his RB2/3 preseason ADP. He more than doubled his season high for receptions with seven, which makes all the difference for the formerly TD-dependent back. If this is a sign of things to come, Montgomery should be in mid-range RB2 conversations at least.