TAMPA, Fla. -- Nick Foles did everything that was asked of him and more over the past nine months, but it’s time for Carson Wentz. Sunday’s 27-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs helped illustrate why.

It was a game in which the normally fine-tuned Philadelphia Eagles machine broke down more than once. There were missed assignments and missed tackles, leading to a pair of 75-yard Bucs touchdowns and four passing TDs in all by 35-year-old journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Key offensive players fell one-by-one. Left tackle Jason Peters (quad) and wide receiver Mike Wallace (ankle) left the game. Running back Jay Ajayi missed most of the first half with a back ailment, limiting the firepower of a unit that was already operating without Darren Sproles (hamstring) and Alshon Jeffery (shoulder).

The offensive line was a little leaky to boot, and it was one of those days when you need your quarterback to be out of his mind to overcome those things.

Foles showed his poise and playmaking ability late against the Bucs with a beauty of a TD pass to Nelson Agholor but was otherwise mortal, as he was in a defense-dominated 18-12 win in the opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Whoa, Nelly.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/eI1J0Cx0E3

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 16, 2018

The Super Bowl MVP is about to hand the reins back over to Wentz, who has been sidelined since tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee against the Los Angeles Rams in December. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Wentz is on track to play in Week 3 versus the Indianapolis Colts.

"Excited. I know the guy is going to get out there and try to make plays for us," left tackle Jason Peters said of Wentz’s pending return. "Anytime a guy comes off of injury, you're excited for the guy to come back and do well. He's the franchise quarterback, and I'm happy for him to even be back."

The Eagles need him.

Foles cemented himself as a Philadelphia legend last postseason, completing 73 percent of his passes with six touchdowns to one interception, including three TD strikes against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII to help deliver the Eagles their first Lombardi Trophy. He kept the team flying at incredible heights after an injury to Wentz that most thought would derail their championship pursuit.

What often gets underplayed in the storytelling of the 2017 season, though, is how that championship run was set up. The Eagles were 11-2 with Wentz as their starter and clinched the NFC East on the night he went down. He helped position them to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

With all due respect to “FitzMagic," it was Wentz who was proving to be the Houdini of the league, coming up with one improbable escape and odds-defying throw after the next. They were the types of plays that provide production even when the rest of the system fails, and they get your team believing that just about anything is possible.

That’s the type of impact Wentz can have again this season, though tight end Zach Ertz wants the rest of the offense to help with the heavy lifting early on while his quarterback and good friend gets re-acclimated.

“I can’t wait to get him back, whenever that is,” Ertz said. “But at the same time, we can’t expect him to be Superman, either. This is going to be his first NFL game in nine months, first live bullets in nine months. We’ve got a lot of talent on the offense where he shouldn’t have to feel like he’s got to come in and solve all our problems.”

The NFL season is a long, hard slog, and to consistently win in this game of attrition, you need a QB who can regularly rise above the unavoidable adversity and make the improbable happen. Foles showed that he can do that in the biggest of moments, and through the bulk of a playoff run. But his history also shows that it comes and goes, which can be problematic when it comes to successfully navigating a 16-game slate, year after year.

Wentz needs to prove that he can stay healthy, but there’s little doubt in the building and around the league that he can be that rare, game-altering franchise quarterback when in the lineup.

With the teeth of the Eagles’ schedule on the horizon, and a repeat on their minds, they’re going to need him.