After his five years in New York came to a rough ending, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez is excited about his chance to start against the Carolina Panthers Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field in his first start under center since 2012.
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Sanchez led the Eagles to a 31-21 victory over the Houston Texans last week in relief of Nick Foles, who left the game with a fractured collarbone.
After four up-and-down years in New York and spending 2013 on the injured reserve with a shoulder injury, Sanchez is now thrust into the starting role for the first time in his Eagles career.
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The former No. 5 overall pick of the Jets is ready for the pressure.
"It's been a while since I started a game," Sanchez said, according to ESPN. "It's hard, going four straight years and then being out for a year -- one, not being able to practice and two, coming in and watching somebody else play. It tests you a little bit. It makes you appreciate it even more. It makes you want to play all that much better when you get in."
Sanchez suffered a shoulder injury in the 2013 preseason during his competition with Geno Smith for the starting job under center for the Jets. New York eventually released Sanchez and he settled for a backup role in Philadelphia this season.
Now with Foles sidelined, Sanchez gets a chance to prove his doubters wrong Monday night.
Though his back-to-back trips to the AFC Championship Game with the Jets in his first two seasons seem like a distant memory, Sanchez has learned from the experiences.
"Just getting that chance to get a bird's-eye view of everything," Sanchez said. "Putting that New York experience in its place -- taking with me a lot of things that went well, improving upon the things that didn't go so well. So now, hopefully, I'm a better version of myself, the best version of myself for this Monday night game."
Sanchez went 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) last week in relief of Foles and orchestrated two touchdown drives while throwing for 202 yards. He also had two interceptions in the win.
Sanchez, 27, has a lifetime 55.2% completion percentage and has thrown for 12,294 yards in 63 games in his career with 70 scores and 71 picks.
Sanchez's first start since the end of the 2012 season will be under the bright lights of ESPN's Monday Night Football as the Eagles (6-2) and Panthers (3-5-1) clash in prime time.
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