Eagles vs. Buccaneers, Week 14: Nick Foles giving Philadelphia fans hope for future

The Philadelphia Eagles avoided their ninth straight loss by beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-21 in come-from-behind fashion on Sunday. The Eagles trailed by 11 midway through the fourth quarter, but rookie quarterback Nick Foles led two late scoring drives to get the victory.

At this point in the season, some fans may root for a struggling team to keep losing in order to get a better draft pick. But SB Nation's Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation says that should not be the case with this squad:

And make no mistake about it, the development of Foles is more important than getting the 3rd overall pick instead of the 5th or 6th. This is not a year where you want to take a QB in the top 10 and if Foles really can be a solution, that's a huge head start for next season.

Foles finished with excellent numbers on Sunday, throwing for 381 yards and two touchdowns. The rookie also added one touchdown on the ground. Foles has played pretty well overall since taking over for the injured Michael Vick back in November, one poor effort against the Washington Redskins notwithstanding. Foles has not thrown an interception since Week 11.

Foles will face a tough challenge next weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals entered Week 14 with a top-10 defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed.