Nick Foles to start for Eagles vs. Saints

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Nick Foles will start as quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles in the team's playoff game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Doug Pederson announced Monday.

The announcement comes in the wake of the defending Super Bowl champions' 16-15 wild card upset over the Chicago Bears.

Foles hit Golden Tate with a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 56 seconds remaining against the NFL's stingiest defense, lifting the Philadelphia Eagles past the Chicago Bears 16-15 on Sunday in the final wild-card game.

"I think the big thing is, we saw some adversity tonight in the first half (and) I had a couple of turnovers," Foles said. "I think the big thing is that no one loses faith, no one stops believing, everyone just keeps talking, keeps believing in one another, and we just rallied. Our defense really kept us in this game."

MORE: Foles leads Eagles to 16-15 upset of Bears | Strong sense of inner peace helps Nick Foles perform well | Nick Foles named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

The defending league champion Eagles (10-7) squeezed into the playoffs by beating Washington and having the Bears (12-5) help them by knocking off Minnesota in the season finale. Philadelphia thanked its benefactor with a 12-play, 60-yard drive on which Foles, the Super Bowl MVP last February, hit six passes.

Tate made a reaching grab in the right side of the end zone near the goal line.

"We found a way," Tate said. "That's playoff football right there for you. That's why we play this game for times like now once you get to January and February."

No team has repeated as Super Bowl champion since New England in 2004, and the Eagles are a sixth seed. The last sixth seed to win the NFL title was Green Bay in the 2010 season; the Packers won the NFC championship at Soldier Field that season.

These Eagles, led by Foles once again replacing an injured Carson Wentz, and a defense down to backups at several positions, seem to have that magical touch like last season.

It was a sizzling ending to a game marked by superior defense and several critical mistakes by the Eagles. They had to survive after Tarik Cohen, an All-Pro punt returner, took back the kickoff following Philly's go-ahead score 35 yards. Mitchell Trubisky completed two passes to get the Bears close enough for Parkey. But his kick took a double deflection and fell harmlessly into the end zone.

He was 11 of 12 in the fourth-quarter on field goals before missing the biggest kick of his career.

"Obviously, we're just hoping for a miss," Foles said. "This was a hard-fought game. That's an amazing team we just played against and it came down to the wire."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.