Nick Foles to Remain Eagles' Starting QB; Carson Wentz Won't Go on IR

Nick Foles will remain the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback for Week 16 against the Houston Texans as Carson Wentz is sidelined with a back injury, coach Doug Pederson announced on Monday. 

Pederson noted that the Eagles want to give Wentz another week of rest to recover but do not intend to put the third-year passer on injured reserve yet, per ESPN.com.

Wentz missed Week 15 after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro. ESPN's Adam Schefter previously reported that the injury was expected to fully heal if given time to rest.

Pederson, according to 94WIP.com's Eliot Shorr-Parks, made it clear on Sunday that Wentz is the starting quarterback when healthy.

In Week 15, Foles once again stepped in to help guide his team to victory. Behind 270 passing yards from the backup signal-caller, the Eagles handed the Los Angeles Rams their third loss of the season while keeping their playoff hopes alive.

This, of course, is not the first time Philadelphia has had to turn to Foles to replace an injured Wentz. Foles went 2-1 down the stretch last year after Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14 and ultimately led the franchise to its first-ever Super Bowl championship, winning Super Bowl MVP in the process.

With Wentz still rehabbing his knee, the Eagles started their title defense with Foles under center. The 29-year-old went 1-1 while completing 65.9 percent of his passes for 451 yards, one touchdown and one interception. And after spending the last 11 games on the bench, he was able to do just enough to keep his team's season afloat.

Philadelphia (7-7) currently sits one game back of the Dallas Cowboys (8-6) in the NFC East and a half-game back of the Minnesota Vikings (7-6-1) in the NFC Wild Card race. Needing to win out and get some help, the Eagles will now hope Foles can deliver more heroics.