Philadelphia Eagles: 3 ways team is following Kansas City Chiefs blueprint
2. Wentz becoming gunslinger on offense
Whether Wentz wants to hear it or not, the quarterback’s durability concerns will likely follow him for the rest of his career.
But if there’s one thing that Wentz’s critics can’t deride him for, it would be his ability to extend plays out of the pocket.
Near the tail end of the 2019 season, 538 revealed a statistical compilation of the league’s starting quarterbacks (minimum 100 pass attempts), dissecting how high their individual QBR (ESPN’s quarterback rating) was when in and outside of the pocket.
In the pocket, Wentz accrued a modest 57.9 QBR, good for 15th in the league among qualifying quarterbacks.
However, once moved outside of the pocket, Wentz’s skills are impossible to ignore, earning a staggering 94.4 QBR, which was higher than Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, and 2019 league MVP Lamar Jackson.
The new batch of wide receivers may allow Wentz to get rid of the ball sooner, but could also allow him to extend plays and take greater risks down the field.
The Eagles roster from each of the last two seasons may have been great at maintaining possession, but mistakes seemed to kill drives that often took more than 10 plays to result in positive points.
No team can play four perfect quarters, not even the world champion Chiefs. Dropped passes, penalties, and turnovers are going to happen.
But with multiple layers of explosive players scattered around the field, and pulling defenders away from open spaces, the Chiefs never needed to be perfect every quarter of every game.
Reid’s offensive scheme and a bevy of fast pass-catching options allow Mahomes to make risky plays in and out of the pocket.
On top of Mahomes’ obvious skills, the scheme works because the Chiefs’ primary pass-catchers are constant threats with the ball in their hands, ranking second in the NFL during the 2019 season for yards after catch.
A healthy Jackson and hopeful immediate impact of the recent wide receiver acquisitions for the Eagles can allow Wentz to live with mistakes and play the style that suits him the most moving forward.
Philadelphia won’t have to critically depend on chewing up short yards and holding onto the ball for dear life. And even if it means a few more turnovers for Wentz, quick-strike touchdowns can make up for those mistakes.