They were never rivals in the same division. They never met in a playoff game. Heck, they probably never will, but when quarterbacks are taken first and second in any NFL Draft, whether you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan or a fan of any other NFL team, it’s hard not to compare one to the other.
We did it with Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. We did it with Robert Griffith III and Andrew Luck, and whether we realized we were doing it or not, we kind of did the same thing with Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, didn’t we?
Here’s a quick trip down memory lane for Philadelphia Eagles fans.
In 2016, the Los Angeles Rams selected the former with the first-overall selection before the Philadelphia Eagles took the latter with the second, and just like that, the debate began. No one remembers that or talks about it as much, but before Birds fans expressed their displeasure over JJ Arcega-Whiteside being selected over DK Metcalf or Justin Jefferson being overlooked for Jalen Reagor, we were talking quarterbacks.
We all wondered if they’d lead their respective teams to Super Bowls, who would be the star, and if they would lock horns as future rivals for years to come, kind of like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Well, fast forward, and five years into their careers, these young signal-callers have met twice. One was in L.A. That one was a Birds victory in a shootout where the Philadelphia Eagles star left with an injury that would change the course of the franchise. The second meeting came in 2020, a win by the Rams and one of Jared Goff’s better showings.
So much for those classic matchups between two budding rivalries between two young signal-callers in the NFC huh?
The story continues for the Philadelphia Eagles star and Goff.
As most of you have heard by now, the Rams have decided to move on from Goff. According to CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin and Jeff Kerr via Jason La Canfora, Los Angeles has agreed to send him, along with their 2021 third-round pick and their 2022 first-round pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford.
At the time of this story being published, no one knows what will happen with Carson Wentz. Here’s what we can say. Neither he or Goff have been what their respective prospects envisioned.
In 69 career games with 69 career starts, including a single playoff game (one he left with injury), Carson Wentz has thrown for 16,814 yards and 113 touchdowns versus 50 picks and 58 fumbles. Goff, on the other hand, in 75 games with 74 starts has tossed for 19,471 yards and 111 touchdowns versus 55 picks and 42 fumbles.
The story is a long way from its ending for both of them, but here’s what we all think we can deduce from what we’ve seen so far. This most certainly isn’t the second coming of a Tom Brady and Peyton Manning-type rivalry.