3 Keys to a Philadelphia Eagles win versus New York in Week 10

2. Carson Wentz needs to get in a rhythm early for the Philadelphia Eagles to win.

Adversity is not something that Carson Wentz isn’t used to. He had to work his way from an FCS school to a first-round draft pick. He had a rough rookie year with guys like Dorial Green-Beckham starting at wide receiver. The next year, he was the MVP up until the ACL tear.

After coming back from the ACL tear early and playing through a back injury, he had a rough start to the 2018 season. He battled through it and had an incredible performance versus Dallas in Week 14 where he didn’t touch the ball in overtime. Not to mention, there was a fumble on the opening kickoff that Philly recovered that the referees missed. Last year, Wentz lost most of his weapons and had some alarming struggles. Then, in the last five games, he carried a practice squad to the postseason.

These first eight games have been ugly. There have been some bright spots here and there but Wentz is not playing like his usual self. This is the most adversity he’s faced throughout his career. The Philadelphia Eagles are a second-half football team. Specifically, Pederson and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz tend to save their best games for the end of the season. That needs to be the case this year.

Pederson needs to get Wentz in a rhythm early in this game and restore his confidence. One great way to do this is with play-action on jet sweeps with Jalen Reagor and swing passes to Jalen Reagor. The Eagles did this against the Cowboys multiple times and it worked easily. It also wouldn’t hurt to work the short game with Dallas Goedert who should be more involved now that he’s fully healthy.

Wentz has great trust in Greg Ward and Travis Fulgham so Pederson can work some quick throws with them as well. Isaac Yiadom will likely be starting at the second outside corner spot opposite of James Bradberry. If Yiadom isn’t healthy, things will be even worse with Corey Ballentine. Pederson needs to take note of this and attack it early and often whether the Giants are in man or zone coverage. As long as the ball is getting out of Wentz’s hands quickly and Wentz is rolling out a bit, the ‘Birds’ should be in good shape.