PHILADELPHIA – Nick Foles wasted his chance to win the No. 1 QB job one incomplete pass at a time.
Matt Barkley threw an interception on every series in his NFL debut.
Turns out, the only Philadelphia Eagles quarterback who came away a winner may have been the injured Michael Vick. His job should be waiting for him whenever he returns from an injured left hamstring.
Foles and Barkley proved to be a disaster of QB tag team, and the Philadelphia Eagles never generated any sustained offense in a 17-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Foles was 11 of 29 for a paltry 80 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns before he was sidelined with a head injury on the last play of the third quarter. With Vick inactive, Barkley made his debut and threw three interceptions — and had another wiped out because of a penalty.
So much for Philly’s blossoming quarterback controversy.
“I was maybe a little too aggressive on some of those throws, trying to advance the ball down the field and help our team win,” Barkley said. “I learned a lot today. I’ll learn even more watching the tape.”
Foles, coming off an impressive performance at Tampa Bay last week that earned him NFC Player of the Week honors, had his worst game since his first career start at Washington last November.
He was sacked three times and misfired on several throws to open receivers, including a low throw to Jason Avant in the end zone in the third quarter.
George Selvie had 1½ sacks and combined with Jarius Wynn on the hit that forced Foles out of the game. Wynn was signed last Tuesday after being released by San Diego.
“I don’t have an answer for it,” coach Chip Kelly said. “It was 11 guys on offense. It was all of us on offense, me calling plays, everybody. It’s not just one guy.”
Kelly was hopeful Vick will return this week against the New York Giants. There was no word on the extent of Foles’ injury.
The Eagles (3-4) sorely missed Vick’s scrambling ability. Also, Vick’s presence makes LeSean McCoy more dangerous because teams have to be wary of both in Kelly’s read-zone offense.
McCoy, the NFL’s leading rusher, was held to 55 yards on 18 carries.
But if Vick and Foles are still too hurt to play against the Giants, then Barkley could get the call and try and snap the Eagles’ nine-game home losing streak. Their last win at the Linc was over the New York Giants on Sept. 30, 2012.
“You have to start somewhere,” he said. “I thought I was ready to go in. I thought I was prepared to play.”
He learned the hard way how rugged it can be for a quarterback in the NFL.
With the Eagles in an offensive funk, the Cowboys led 3-0 at halftime, leaving the entertainment to social media.
Tony Romo threw for 317 yards and one touchdown for the Cowboys (4-3) to help them take sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
Two teams that averaged a combined 58.2 points per game and allowed a combined 55.2 totaled 13 punts in a first half.
“In Philadelphia at the world’s most boring football game ever. SOMEONE SCORE!” tweeted “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” actress Kaitlin Olson.
Dallas played without four-time All-Pro defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who missed the first game in his nine-year career because of a quadriceps injury. Anthony Spencer, the end opposite Ware, is out for the season after knee surgery. The banged-up defense was still enough to slow down the Eagles.
“It’s a testament to how hard and committed these guys are to practicing,” Romo said. “It’s neat for them to have a game like this. They would’ve won it by themselves.”
The Cowboys sealed it when Romo tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Terrance Williams to make it 17-3.
Eagles fans made the early trek toward the exits — a familiar sight the last two seasons at the Linc.
NOTES: The Cowboys got their first road win and are 3-0 in the division for first time since 2007. … The Eagles were the fourth team in NFL history to have 400 yards of offense in each of first six games. They were held to 278.
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Online: AP NFL site: http://pro32.ap.org/
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