Week 3 is officially done for the Eagles as they now have to gear their focus toward the Packers on a short week. Unfortunately, the loss to the Lions has left many people with more questions than answers. One player is at the focal point of these questions and whether is unfair or not, no one will ever know.
Is Carson Wentz really the blame for this unproductive offense? For some odd reason, many fans believe so and they have every right to. The team signed Wentz to a massive extension while letting Nick Foles walk. I get it, but he’s not the issue. Sure, he had a terrible first half against the Falcons but he finished strong. He was consistent against the Lions and finished strong.
The Eagles are three plays away from being 3-0. The Nelson Agholor drop in Atlanta, the Dallas Goedert drop that would’ve given the Eagles more time towards the end of the game and let’s not forget the JJ Arcega-Whiteside drop to end the game, which would’ve been the game-winning touchdown.
Wentz is giving the team everything they’re asking for but isn’t in a position to execute. Carson Wentz has thrown for 803 yards with 6 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and a completion percentage of 61% so far for the season. He’s only four touchdowns behind Pat Mahomes and has 300 yards less but Mahomes has young skill players making plays!
Sorry, didn’t mean to yell at you. My question is this, what happens now? Wentz is heading into Green Bay to face a defense that has completely turned around and will most likely have to play keep up with Aaron Rodgers all game long. This game will definitely Wentz in many ways.
Does Wentz have another level to him that will allow him to carry this team? Will Wentz show trust in his young receivers? Do Pederson and Wentz even mesh well?
Wentz is trying his best to operate with short term memory but the misses on his reads are showing otherwise. Can you blame him? Dallas Goedert drop a touchdown pass, a couple of plays later Wentz had Goedert open and didn’t even look his way. Wentz had this to say on the missed opportunities, “It is frustrating. You know it’s the National Football League and you don’t get multiple chances within each game that kind of make or break the ball game. We had the ball at the end of the game with a chance to win and we came up short. So it’s obviously frustrating, but you know, we have a quick turnaround so we have to look hard at ourselves in the mirror, see where we can get better, and come out flying on Thursday.”
He was later asked about the dropped passes and took the high road with his response, “It’s part of the game. Guys are going to drop passes. We’re going to put the ball on the ground. I’m going to throw picks. We’re going to miss reads. Things happen. Guys make mistakes. Any time somebody drops a pass or something like that I make sure I go right up to them and tell them it’s coming their way the next time and just try to keep building them up. Staying positive. Again it’s frustrating. No one wants to make mistakes but there’s nothing you can really do about it. Just have to keep building those guys up.”
Wentz and the offense are only half the problem right now, but maybe Wentz needs a little more credit for finding ways to keep his team in these games. He went out there with a few rookies, an inconsistent Veteran in Nelson Agholor, a special teams player trying to find his place in the offense in Mack Hollins and a questionable running game. At this point, you have to question if the play calling is fitting to what Wentz can do. The Eagles have a lot of questions they need to answer before Thursday.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
