Philadelphia Eagles: Is Carson Wentz ready for playoffs?
The Philadelphia Eagles look like they have a franchise quarterback ready to lead in the postseason in Carson Wentz.
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, but the Philadelphia Eagles look like they’re in midseason form following a 34-7 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
But this wasn’t just any win. This was a dominant victory over a team that was probably a bit better than its record indicated, but it didn’t matter.
The matchup of Carson Wentz and Carson Palmer was never in doubt, at least in terms of who was going to come out on top. It’s true that Palmer’s offensive line was in shambles, but this had nothing to do with Wentz shredding the Arizona defense during the entire first quarter en route to a 21-0 lead that all but decided the contest well before halftime.
32. Final. 34. 54. 7
Inside the numbers:
Wentz’s quarterback rating of 128.3 would have been even higher if not for an interception thrown that didn’t effect the outcome in any way. As opposed to Palmer being able to utilize his years of experience over a youngster entering just his 21st game in the NFL, it was Wentz who was hitting pass after pass without so much as a whimper from the Cardinals defense.
Wentz engineered an offense that hogged the ball for 35:47 and he spread the ball around to just about anybody who wanted it. Eight different receivers caught passes that tallied up 297 yards on an efficient 21 passes.
Wentz fired four touchdown passes, including a coming-out-party 59-yard strike to Torrey Smith, who had yet to make any real impact on the Eagles offense this season. Wentz’s 77-yard touchdown strike to Nelson Agholor was equally impressive and it also showed how dangerous this young quarterbacks weapons are in the open field.
Moving forward:
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There’s going to be bigger tests down the road, including four games remaining against the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.
There will be more injuries and probably some setbacks and adversity that all teams have to deal with.
But what fans of the Philadelphia Eagles have been wanting since the end of the Donovan McNabb era is a true franchise quarterback who can lead this team where it’s never been before – there’s only one place, which goes without saying.
Is there anybody in the NFL that you think the Eagles cannot beat?
I can’t think of one that’s head-and-shoulders out of reach for this team, at least the way it’s playing right now.
Next: 5 Takeaways from Week 5 win over Arizona
The running game continues to do its part and this will be key down the road. But for a few weeks now it no longer looks like an issue.
Wentz is ready for the postseason, whether the Philadelphia Eagles actually get there or not.