Carson Wentz is capable of turning the season around

Victor Williams
September 22, 2020
Eagles
0 Comments

Carson Wentz has certainly played below everyone’s standards to start the season. Through the first two games, he’s posted some of the league’s worst numbers:

Completion %: 58.8 (29th)
Yards: 518 (18th)
Pass TDs: 2 (16th)
INTs: 4 (1st)
Yards/Attempt: 6.0 (29th)
Passer Rating: 64.4 (32nd)

It hasn’t taken long for the media (and fans alike) to start firing off their takes that have been sitting in their Twitter drafts for so very long. All it took was two subpar performances from Wentz for everyone to come to the general consensus that Jalen Hurts is somehow a better option.

.@maxkellerman thinks it’s getting close to time for the Eagles to start Jalen Hurts over Carson Wentz.

“[Wentz is] a bad quarterback who’s costing his team, who WILL NOT be starting much longer if he continues to play like this.” pic.twitter.com/NcNqELFcKo
— First Take (@FirstTake) September 21, 2020

I may be in the minority here, but plugging an inexperienced QB (who isn’t even ready for the NFL as a whole) into an uninspiring system doesn’t sound too productive to me. Personally, I don’t see how Jalen Hurts is going to magically excel in an offense that Carson Wentz is struggling in. There is reason to believe that Wentz can turn this ship around, however.

Wentz just had back-to-back multiple interception games for the first time in his career. He hasn’t thrown more than 7 INTs in each of the last 3 seasons. In that same amount of time, he’s thrown 81 TDs to just 21 INTs. I understand that his signs of regression are concerning in Year 5, but that isn’t a product of Wentz’s overall talent.

Carson Wentz ended 2019 with 173 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. pic.twitter.com/UiKIoX4vQn
— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) April 27, 2020

We heard these same “Wentz is the problem” narratives back in 2018 after the QB threw 3 INTs and recorded an 8.8 QBR in New Orleans, getting embarrassed 48-7. Wentz threw 15 TDs and just 3 INTs over the next 7 games (with a broken back and bum knee).

Just last season when the Eagles suffered that deflating loss to Miami, the team was all but dead in water sitting at 5-7. Depleted of all offensive weapons, Doug Pederson had no option but to play Wentz to his strengths to even have a shot at the postseason.

From that moment on, we saw more designed rollouts and mobility from Carson Wentz. He ended the year throwing for 1200 yards, 7 TDs, 0 INTs, and a 100.8 rating, taking his team to the playoffs in the process. Wentz is capable of pulling himself out of these slumps.

I need everyone to realize the degree of difficulty on this throw. Carson Wentz is nothing short of spectacular. pic.twitter.com/ZAc0dhWHmg
— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) April 2, 2020

I’m not making any excuses for Carson Wentz. He’s been inaccurate and has made some poor decisions with the ball, but a lot of the issues fall on Doug Pederson as well. Jared Goff isn’t nimble by any means and Sean McVay had him out the pocket more than Pederson even bothered to try with his QB.

The play-calling wasn’t terrible on Sunday but the offense remains stagnant. Perhaps the struggles are a result of not having a traditional offensive coordinator to take some pressure off the head coach.

Whatever the case, I don’t believe the Eagles have a quarterback problem. The only way the team can expect to get back on track is with Carson Wentz. If you think his mechanics are bad, just wait until you see Jalen Hurts if he actually ends up under center at some point.

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