Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz off to best start of his career

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is off to the best start of his career. No, seriously, he is. Just look at the numbers.

Perhaps the rumors of a ‘Super Bowl hangover’ were exaggerated slightly. The Philadelphia Eagles finally played their most complete game of the season as their quarterback, Carson Wentz, lit up the skies en route to a a 26-of-36 performance that resulted in 278 yards and three scoring strikes.

Maybe it’s safe to assume Wentz’s absence in Super Bowl LII has fueled his hunger for a return trip. Maybe, just like any other quarterback in an ultra-competitive NFL, Wentz just needed to get on the field and get his feet wet, just like Foles needed to do a season ago.

Here we are, just four games into Wentz’s return, and Philly’s franchise signal caller is off to the best statistical start of his career. Yes, you read that correctly.

He’s thrown eight touchdowns against only one interception. He’s completed almost 69 percent of his passes for 1,192 yards, and he has a quarterback rating of 104.7.

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Compare that to the six touchdowns and two interceptions he threw in 2017 while completing less than 61 percent of his passes and the 67 percent completion percentage he racked up while amassing the seven touchdown-to-one-interception ratio he had in 2016 as a rookie.

What’s even more shocking is he’s done this while under constant duress and while defying some of the basic laws of football.

You never throw late across the middle.

Think back to that first Eagles drive of the New York Giants game. Philly’s trying to capitalize on a turnover, it’s third down and, again, Wentz is running for his life.

New York’s pressure package forces Wentz and his surgically reconstructed knee to the sideline. Alshon Jeffery starts playing a little ‘street ball’, and then it happened.

Wentz decided to break, not one but, two rules a quarterback should never break. He threw back across his body, and he threw late across the middle. It’s clearly not how this one was drawn up, but it worked. Philly cashed in.

According to Next Gen Stats, the pass had an 18.2 percent completion probability. Take a look at this:

Sure, Wentz looked good in some pre-game warm-ups. Sure, he had some nice throws in the red jersey during training camp. We knew there would be some rust when he stepped back on the field, and there was but it appears some of that rust is falling off now.

Foles needed some time to get some in-game reps. So did Wentz. Now, it appears that an Eagles team that’s taken over first place in the NFC East may be ready for the road ahead. There’s little margin for error, but based on what we’ve seen from Wentz so far in 2018, the champs may be up for the challenge.

Oh, and by the way, we forgot to mention something. Wentz is now the only quarterback in the 86-year history of the Eagles to throw a touchdown pass in 19 consecutive games. Just let that one sink in for a minute.