Carson Wentz is making the Philadelphia Eagles “America’s Team”
By Matt Giraldi
Disliking Carson Wentz off the football field has become difficult this year.
When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Carson Wentz second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, expectations were set. Some are already wrong and some are teetering that way. Most, if not all, predictions focused on Wentz ON the field.
Off the field, not so much. North Dakota State quarterbacks aren’t often the subject of “get to know me” seminars. The majority of his life was spent in North Dakota, he was an avid hunter, and he cherished his faith. It seems like all three are true today.
Whether it’s the story of his relationship with the Dutch Destroyer or his work with his AO1 Foundation, Wentz is proving to be a leader in the community as well. It’s an important balance that has seen national media attention shine brighter than ever on Wentz. He hasn’t disappointed.
That includes those on the football field too. Nelson Agholor has seen a career resurgence with Wentz at quarterback. Alshon Jeffery is enjoying a very productive stretch in a contract year. This is only the third time that Jeffery has had five or more touchdowns in a season. Torrey Smith doesn’t have the box score numbers, but his contributions on offense are evident. Perhaps the trip to North Dakota during the offseason worked.
Disliking Wentz on the football field has also become difficult this year.
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Cue tonight’s game against “America’s Team”, the Dallas Cowboys. Wentz is center stage for a nationally televised battle against fellow second year quarterback Dak Prescott. Lest we forget, at this time last season much of the talk centered around Prescott’s superiority to Wentz.
Wentz has only two games throwing for fewer than 200 yards this season, one of which was against the Broncos where he threw four touchdowns. He has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 23:5. On third downs, Wentz is completing 65.9% of his passes. He has converted 52.4% of third downs attempted through the air. There’s also the Eagles’ NFL best record of 8-1.
Entering tonight’s game, it’s Wentz at the forefront of discussion for NFL MVP. Once again, the roles are seemingly reversed. All from a quarterback that supposedly had poor mechanics and mediocre accuracy according to his critics. Tonight Wentz gets a defense that will be without starting safety Jeff Heath and linebacker Sean Lee. Last weekend, the Atlanta Falcons scored on four of their six possessions where Lee was out of the game.
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A win tonight could deliver the NFC East championship to the Eagles by the end of the month. Sure, everything is bigger in Texas, but a win tonight would be huge. The Eagles would be wise to load up on new shocks for Christmas, because the Wentz wagon is about to become crowded. Those in attendance in Texas might try to be the first ones to join following tonight’s game.