Nick Foles Proving to Possess Intangible 'It' Factor Required to Lead Eagles

Last year, the impact quarterback Nick Foles made during a breakout season with the Philadelphia Eagles was easily measured in quantitative fashion. His 27-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best in NFL history, his passer rating of 119.2 was the third-highest in league history and his 9.1 average easily led all qualifying quarterbacks. 

But success in pro football, particularly at the quarterback position, goes well beyond the numbers. Stats can be misleading, especially in small sample sizes. Which leads us to the over-applied "it" factor. In order to lead franchises to Super Bowls, quarterbacks must "have it." But what exactly is "it"? Well, "it" is certainly a cliche, but that doesn't make "it" fictional. 

Grantland's Bill Barnwell writes that while "nobody really has any handle on who has the It Factor," it's hard to dispute its existence. A summary of his take on the vague term:

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If you want to succeed in the NFL, you simply have to have that “It Factor.” The defending Super Bowl champions are led by a quarterback, Russell Wilson, who, Jon Gruden said, “had the ‘it’ factor unlike any quarterback I’ve met.” Bears head coach Marc Trestman says, “The ‘it’ factor is a prerequisite to play quarterback in the NFL.” And conversation about the three first-round quarterback prospects in this year’s draft was dominated by chatter about who had the It Factor and who lacked it. ...

“It Factor” can mean just about anything you want it to mean, truthfully. The word is often synonymous with “intangibles,” which itself has been twisted to mean something like “things that can’t be measured that we will try to measure anyway.” Toughness, leadership, and bravery are familiar qualities we associate with intangibles, and likewise, they come up very frequently in articles and quotes about the It Factor.

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Sunday in Philadelphia, in his 19th career start, Foles proved to us that whatever "it" is, he's got it. 

See, in 2013, Foles didn't have to face a lot of adversity. All five members of one of the league's best offensive lines protected him well all season long, he still had Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson, the entire offense remained healthy throughout the year and opposing defenses were still trying to figure him out. Plus, those defenses were always being kept honest by the league's best running game. 

Thus far this year, things haven't gone as smoothly in Foles' orbit. During crunch time Sunday against Washington, five of his top six offensive linemen from the preseason were unavailable, Jackson was playing for the opposing team, and running back LeSean McCoy was experiencing the second-least productive game of his NFL career. 

Game	Carries	Yards	YPA
Week 13, 2009	6	2	0.33
Sunday	20	22	1.10
Week 14, 2011	27	38	1.41
Week 6, 2012	14	22	1.57
Week 10, 2009	3	5	1.67

In addition to all of that, Foles was—unsurprisingly—getting beaten up. He was hurt on two separate hits from Redskins defensive lineman Chris Baker, the first of which appeared to knock the wind out of him...

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But he didn't miss a play and continued to lead a scoring drive. 

The second hit, which drew a penalty and led to left tackle Jason Peters being ejected for retaliating, had the third-year quarterback writhing in pain on the turf. 

Yet without his All-Pro blind-side protector (Peters was tossed), his All-Pro left guard (Evan Mathis is still out), his stud center (Jason Kelce suffered a sports hernia earlier in the game), his right tackle (Lane Johnson is still suspended) and his backup right tackle (Allen Barbre is out for the year), Foles got back up and once again led the Eagles into the end zone for a huge fourth-quarter score. 

He proved he's got the toughness necessary to lead this team, even when its world-famous rushing attack is going nowhere and he's receiving little support from his pass-protectors. You get the feeling he helped bring this team even closer together than it already was, which is something good leaders do. 

Further details on the rallying point from Bob Grotz of the Delaware County Daily Times:

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The Eagles are 3-0 for the first time since their 2004 Super Bowl season. It didn’t seem like it would happen until Foles, who threw three touchdown passes, got into the huddle and barked out what teammates called “strong, emotional things.” Obscenities?

“No, that’s not Nick,” Eagles guard Dennis Kelly said. “But they were very powerful. You could tell how emotional he was. He was very ticked off. He was saying, ‘Let’s finish them off. Let’s end this game. We need to take all the romance out of it. Let’s finish.”

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With that dilapidated offensive line, Foles was pressured on 47.7. percent of his dropbacks Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Only three quarterbacks were pressured more in Week 3. And yet he completed 14 of 21 passes on those plays, taking zero sacks and throwing zero interceptions. 

A lot of people have wondered if Foles' reputation has been inflated by the fact he's running Chip Kelly's success-friendly offense. At times last year, that may have been the case. But Kelly can't teach poise, toughness and determination in those moments. This is a quarterback who continues to be at his absolute best when his back is against the wall, and the numbers certainly indicate that as well:

	Comp.%	TD	INT	YPA	Rating
First half	65.4	13	3	8.6	106.8
Fourth quarter	58.2	8	0	10.8	135.0
4th Q, one-score game	58.3	6	0	12.8	142.4

He hasn't been lights-out this season, especially early in games. But it does appear as though Foles has that all-important clutch gene, which could trump the notion of consistency being of utmost importance. 

With that line ravaged and matchups with tough defenses like San Francisco, St. Louis, Arizona, Houston and Carolina on the upcoming schedule, Foles will continue to have his work cut out for him in a major way. 

But dating back to the start of 2013, the Eagles are now 11-1 in games in games that Foles has been able to start and finish, so at this point you'd be crazy to bet against the guy. 

He's just got "it." 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon