5 stars for Eagles in their playoff run, beginning with Foles

PHILADELPHIA — It's easy to look at the Eagles' unsung heroes for helping them make this run to the playoffs. 

But as many coaches will say in cliched fashion, you need your best players to be your best players. That has been the case for the Eagles' 5-1 finish to the regular season, enabling them to make the playoffs, where they will face the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

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As valuable as little-known players like cornerback Cre'Von LeBlanc and safety Tre Sullivan have been (neither were on the 53-man roster well into October), the Eagles wouldn't be here without these five star players:

1. Nick Foles

It's hard to quantify Foles as one of the Eagles' star players, considering that he's officially a backup quarterback. But he does have experience in this role from last year, when he took over for Carson Wentz in December and led the Eagles to the Super Bowl, where he was the MVP.

The Eagles desperately needed that again when he replaced Wentz after the starter was sidelined with a stress fracture in his back following the overtime loss to the Cowboys on Dec. 9.

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Foles has since led the Eagles to wins over the Los Angeles Rams (13-3) and Houston Texans (11-5). He threw for a franchise-record 471 yards against the Texans. He completed 25 passes in a row against Washington on Sunday, tying the NFL record and breaking the team record of 24 set by Donovan McNabb in 2004.

"He's in a good groove right now," Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said in an understatement.

Foles is also battle tested. He has started 32 games for the Eagles in the regular season. He'll be starting his fifth playoff game for them. He's 3-1 in his previous four.

2. Fletcher Cox

Cox has been by far the Eagles' best defensive player over the last several weeks. And it goes beyond the sacks, even though Cox had three on Sunday against Washington, tying his career high for a game and giving him a career-high 10.5 for the season.

Against the Rams on Dec. 16, for example, Cox had one sack. But he was in the Rams' backfield practically the entire game, helping to contain both quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley. Cox outplayed Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who should run away with the NFL's defensive player of the year award.

3. Malcolm Jenkins

Like Cox, Jenkins has picked up his play over the final six weeks of the season. That is not insinuating that Cox and Jenkins weren't playing well before that. 

In Jenkins' case, he's the only one of the four starting defensive backs when the season began not to wind up on season-ending injured reserve. In one game, the other three starters were NFL nomads LeBlanc, De'Vante Bausby and Chandon Sullivan.

Jenkins was one of three players in the NFL to play every single defensive snap this season. For the Eagles, that was 1,039 snaps.

Off the field, Jenkins and Cox were instrumental in keeping the team together following the 48-7 loss to the Saints on Nov. 18 that left the Eagles at 4-6.

"It's really good to see both of those guys, leaders of the team ... and guys that after New Orleans rose up and challenged the guys, (saying), 'It's time to go. We have to get this fixed,'" Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. "They're obviously valuable on the football field, but off the field as well in their roles. Whether they're talking to young players or bringing somebody along, kind of showing them how to win, that's important, too. It’s great to have both those guys on the team."

4. Alshon Jeffery

In the three games with Foles at quarterback, Jeffery has 16 catches for 301 yards. That's more receiving yards than in the six games before that (236).

Jeffery had two receptions of 50 or more yards in the last three games; he didn't have any before that. Plus, Jeffery had the key 19-yard reception late in the fourth quarter on a 3rd-and-10 from the Eagles' 11-yard line against Houston on Dec. 23. That enabled the Eagles to ultimately kick the game-winning field goal as time expired.

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Of course, Jeffery will be going against his former team this Sunday, having played his first five seasons with the Bears before coming to the Eagles in 2017.

"He understands the moment and what it takes," Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. "And when he has to ramp it up and when he has to make plays to help us win."

5. Lane Johnson

Johnson, as widely noted, slept over at the NovaCare Complex the night the Pro Bowl teams were announced Dec. 20 because he felt like he was snubbed (he was selected as an alternate).

The next game, the Eagles' right tackle neutralized Houston's J.J. Watt. Washington's Ryan Kerrigan was mostly ineffective. This week, he'll likely face Bears star rusher Khalil Mack for at least part of the game (the Bears like to move Mack around).

And yes, there's a history going back to last Dec. 25 when Mack was with the Oakland Raiders.

After the Eagles' 19-10 win that night, Johnson said this: "I didn’t think Khalil Mack had a sack, did he? He’s supposed to be the best player in the league."

But Johnson was penalized twice for holding that night, penalties he called "ticky-tack bull (expletive)."

No doubt, Mack remembers that.

Honorable mention

There are several others who have played well, too. There's wide receiver Nelson Agholor, who had an 83-yard TD reception against the Texans, then two more TDs against Washington. Groh called Agholor "an unsung hero" last week. 

And there's defensive end Michael Bennett, who finished with 9 sacks after having just one through the first five games. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said Bennett has "a spider sense to him."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.