Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles look to shine in Carson, California

“Carson Wentz is a natural leader.”

Carson Wentz has the Philadelphia Eagles offense flying high. The Eagles are 2-1 with two divisional wins. Even the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, an out of conference road game, only affects playoff tie-breakers at the fourth level, strength of victory.

The Eagles are in that very position because of Wentz, He completed 67.1% of his passes in the victories over the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Wentz has also made key plays with the game on the line. Against the Giants, he led scoring drives to tie and win the game. Against the Redskins, he expanded the lead. In both games, Wentz was able to lead scoring drives with less than 2:30 left in the fourth quarter.

When the pressure is on Wentz, he has delivered this season. Pressure, applies to the figurative and literal sense of the word as well. His harrowing escape Week One where he found Nelson Agholor open for a touchdown will undoubtedly be a play of the year candidate. The throw to Alshon Jeffery last week to set up Jake Elliott‘s 61-yard field goal will quietly go down as one of his best throws as a professional.

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There was a lot of talk about the bonding that went on this offseason in North Dakota. Early on it appears that the results speak for themselves. Wentz and the receivers have seemingly been on the same page throughout the early part of the regular season thus far. There have been mental errors aplenty (Torrey Smith), however the team is still putting itself in position to win.

“Carson Wentz has a lot of work to do still.”

Between the 20’s, Wentz has been spectacular. Inside the red zone, he’s been dreadful. Inefficiency in the red zone is not new to Wentz either. Last season Wentz only completed 48.84% of his passes inside the 20 yard line.

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The month of September has been quite generous to Wentz. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback has a 5-1 record in September. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for October. Last season the Eagles went 1-3 in October. Following that horrific month, the Eagles went 1-7 in their next eight games.

A key contributor to the Eagles losing so many of those game was turnovers. In the 10 losses the Eagles suffered during that time span, Wentz threw seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Thus far this season, the two interceptions that Wentz has thrown were inside the Eagles 35-yard line. If there’s a spot for improvement, it’s right there.

Let’s also remember context however. Wentz is just beginning his second season. After 19 games under his belt, Wentz is performing quite admirably. After all, Peyton Manning had a worse completion percentage, quarterback rating and touchdown to interception ratio than Wentz after that many games.

Today is an opportunity for Wentz to emerge from the broiler pan that is Philadelphia sports. The Eagles are facing a wounded dog in a park that can’t fill capacity. Jason Verrett is gone for the Los Angeles Chargers. Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram are going up against two of the best tackles in football.

The Eagles are playing in a game they have to win. For them, this game can establish themselves as a playoff contender. As for the Chargers, this could be the third week in a row where Carson brutally knocks them down a peg. The only difference is that the Carson this week will have fan support in the stands; they’ll just be wearing lots of green.