Last Sunday, November 2nd, against the Houston Texans in Houston, starting quarterback Nick Foles suffered a broken collarbone that will keep him sidelined about 6 or so weeks. While Foles is out and recovering, former USC and New York Jets will take the role as the starting quarterback for the 6-2 Eagles who currently lead the NFC East and are tied with the Detroit Lions for the 2nd seed in the NFC. 

First off, here's some background information about the new starting quarterback Mark Sanchez. Sanchez was drafted 5th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft out of USC by the New York Jets. The Jets thought highly of Sanchez at the time of drafting him, especially considering quarterbacks such as Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow were in that draft and still available at that time. In 3 years at USC, as he forwent his senior season, he completed 313 of 487 passes (64.3 completion %) for 3,965 yards, 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 22 games played (16 started). In 2008, he led the Trojans to a 38-24 Rose Bowl victory over Penn State as he also led USC to a 12-1 (8-1 in then called Pac-10) season. 

To Sanchez's NFL career now, he played at started 62 games at quarterback for the Jets from 2009-12, completing only 1,028 of 1,876 passes (55.1 completion %) for 12,092 yards and 68 touchdowns but also had 69 interceptions. In 6 career playoff games in 2009 & 2010, he did somewhat better, completing 95 of 157 passes (60.5 completion %) for 1,155 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. However, he missed the entire 2013 season due to injury. The Jets released him on March 21st, 2014 with the Eagles signing him 8 days later on March 29th, 2014 to a 1-year $2.25 Million contract. 

Next, Sanchez replaced Foles in last weeks 31-21 win over the Texans and completed 15 of 22 pass attempts for 202 yards, 2 TD's and 2 interceptions. The Eagles are somewhat prepared for this stretch without Foles, as an injury caused him to miss 2 games last season and then backup quarterback Michael Vick was injured in the very next game, leaving Matt Barkley to come in at quarterback and start the next week. 

Finally, if Sanchez gets injured or does not do well through his first 3-4 games, I could very well see Chip Kelly and the Eagles turning to whom they had to last year, Matt Barkley, who also attended USC, to play in place of Sanchez. This injury forced starting job is no guarantee for Sanchez. With the Cowboys right behind them in the NFC East and playoff seeding critical down the stretch in any sport, the Eagles won't be patient and stay with Sanchez if he's struggles.