Foles' Magic Pass Betrayed by the Best Hands in the League

Call it a sports fan's foible to blame the outcome of a game gone wrong on one particular play.

The bitch is that one particular play becomes a lasting memory of chances gone wrong.

For example, how many remember that Bill Buckner was a distinguished 22-year MLB vet with a batting title to his name, MVP mentions, strong stats spanning four decades?

Then this happened in the World Series:

 

For the record, dude brought on his own karma by insisting he be on the field to celebrate Boston's first Series championship since dinosaurs walked the earth and talking his skip outta putting a defensive replacement out there.

Sports history is littered with stuff like that, and now it's got another one.

There the Philadelphia Eagles were, scoreless since the first quarter in New Orleans, now trailing 20-14 in the closing minutes, also known in the 267 as when Nick Foles morphs into Captain SuperEagle Dude or something.

 

And he's doing it again, finding receivers all over the field, zipping his crew down to where, all of a sudden, the moneyline starts looking like it shoulda been added to the spread and total.

But no.

Foles picks out Alshon Jeffery, who'd never dropped a playoff pass in his NFL life. Until that moment:

 

That'd be Saints CB Marshon Lattimore doing the Who Dat all the way to the NFC title game.

The same Marshon Lattimore, in fact, who read back shoulder and picked Foles in the second quarter:

 

With those two heroic feats -- which he's paid to do, of course -- the former Buckeye surely saved two scores, turning the tide and sealing the deal for his buds-in-arms.

Not that it's totally a myth, but teams have more than a lone chance to win or lose in any particular event.

In this case, Jeffery set himself up on Front Street with his claim of possessing the best hands in the league.

 

Sure, dude caught a TD pass in last year's Super Bowl and two more in the NFC championship. Hopefully, for his sake, he'll have more opportunities to headline in the future.

But right now, in the wake of the Saints' 20-14 victory, Jeffery's the latest NFL version of Bill Buckner. Or Chris Webber. Or a hella lotta dudes who live in more infamy than well-deserved glory.