The Eagles are built to survive the Nick Foles roller coaster

The Philadelphia Eagles are 1-0 after kicking off the 2018 season with an 18-12 win over the Atlanta Falcons. It was far from a pretty or smooth victory, though.

At the center of their rocky win was Nick Foles, the team’s postseason hero and Super Bowl MVP. The quarterback finished his season debut with 19 completions on 34 attempts for 117 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

To put that in perspective, no quarterback in any game during the 2017 season threw more than 30 passes and finished with fewer yards than Foles’ 117 total from Thursday.

His 50.7 passer rating was almost enough to give the Eagles an 0-1 record to start the year. But running backs Corey Clement and Jay Ajayi came to the rescue with 35 combined rushing yards on the team’s last three offensive plays, and a defensive stand in the final seconds preserved the win.

It might take efforts like that to keep the Eagles on track until Carson Wentz is ready to return.

This wasn’t a new or shocking performance for Foles. For years, he’s been a player capable of three interceptions one week and seven touchdowns the next.

It’s entirely possible that he’ll light up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — owners of a much less formidable defense than the Falcons — for 400 yards in Week 2.

In his storybook 2017, Foles took the reins as a starter in Week 15 after Wentz went down with an ACL tear. He passed the test with flying colors with four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-29 win over the Giants.

Then he followed the performance with 202 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions on 49 passing attempts in the last two games of the year. The Eagles converted one of 17 third downs with Foles under center in Weeks 16 and 17.

He also struggled through this preseason, throwing for 171 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions.

So the Eagles getting the bad version of Foles on Thursday shouldn’t be a surprise. It happens ... apparently at random.

Fortunately for Philadelphia, its defense is going to cause problems for everyone.

A defensive line that already had Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Chris Long added Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata in the offseason. It held the Falcons to 74 rushing yards and harassed Matt Ryan all night, sacking the quarterback three times in the final seven minutes.

The Eagles’ defense was No. 4 in the NFL in yards and points allowed in 2017. It may be even better this time around.

On offense, Philadelphia has a dangerous stable of running backs in Ajayi, Clement, and Darren Sproles, who each bring a unique skillset into the backfield. Even though Foles’ highlight of the night came via his hands instead of his arm, the Eagles totaled 113 yards on the ground and a couple Ajayi touchdowns to get the win.

If the Foles ride hits a valley, there’s enough firepower everywhere else on the roster that the Eagles can be fine.

The season is just getting started, and as long as Foles doesn’t bury the Eagles in the standings — something that seems even less likely after a 1-0 start — Philadelphia’s real hopes at defending its Super Bowl title rest in Wentz’s hands. Or his knee, really.

Wentz was well on his way to the NFL MVP award in 2017 before his knee injury. He had 33 touchdowns with seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 101.9. If he’s that same player again upon his return, good luck stopping the Eagles.

That’s a big “if” for a player who spent his offseason rehabbing his knee instead of working with his teammates, participating in training camp, or taking preseason snaps. But Wentz will inevitably take over for Foles — although it may take until October — and then it’ll be in the third-year quarterback’s hands.

Until then, the Eagles are stuck riding the Foles roller coaster, for better or worse.