The deed has finally been done. Carson Wentz is no longer a Philadelphia Eagle. While the tenure ended very unceremoniously, there is no denying that Wentz made a mark on this franchise that will forever be set in stone.
Let’s take a look at his statistical accomplishments (both good and bad) over the past five years (well 4 and 12 games)
The Good
2016: The Carson Wentz era begins
Prior to 2020, Carson Wentz’s 2016 rookie season ranked fourth all-time in passing yards (Justin Herbert’s 2020 season bumped him down to 5th).
His 3,782 passing yards were 41 more than Peyton Manning 380 short of Jameis Winston.
Again, prior to 2020, Wentz’s 379 completions were the most for a rookie (Justin Herbert beat out that mark with 396 in 2020).
Wentz became the second rookie ever to attempt 600 passes (607), joining Andrew Luck (627)
Among players with 500+ passing attempts, Wentz’s 62.44% completion was best in NFL history until Kyler Murray broke that in 2019 with 64.39% and then Herbert (he’s good huh?) broke it in 2020 with 66.55%.
He is also one of four rookies ever to start a season 3-0.
2017: Carson Wentz becomes an MVP candidate
Do I really need to spell this one out for you?
Wentz only played in 13 games, obviously, but became just the third QB in Eagles history with 11 wins in the team’s first 13 games. He joined Donovan McNabb & Ron Jaworski in that metric.
His 33 touchdowns surpassed Sonny Jurgensen’s 32 for most in a season in Eagles history – a mark that stood since 1961. His seven interceptions tied for fewest among Eagles QBs with 400 or more attempts in a season with himself (2018 & 2019) and McNabb.
His 11 wins pushed the Eagles to a spot where they would not only win the division but earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. We all know what happened after.
To argue that Wentz’s performance could’ve been matched, or even come close to, by another quarterback is to severely downplay just how important Wentz was to the Super Bowl run. The Super Bowl does not happen without Carson Wentz.
2018: Reaffirming what we already knew
While 2018 started off later than the first two seasons due to his ACL recovery, he didn’t miss a beat.
Among Eagles quarterbacks who started 8 or more games, Wentz’s 279.5 YPG is the highest single-season mark in team history.
His 102.2 rating ranks second among Eagles QBs with 400 or more attempts (third overall).
The 69(nice).58% completion is first in team history among QBs with 200 or more attempts.
While his season was cut short due to his a injury, he was on pace for a 3,913-yard season, with 26.7 TDs and 8.9 INTs
2019: Rising from the ashes
His first full 16 game season since his rookie year was a successful one. Wentz became the only quarterback in Eagles history to have less than 10 INTs in a full 16 game season, and the only quarterback in Eagles history to throw for 4,000+ yards in a season.
He is currently the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000+ yards without a single wide receiver over 500 yards receiving.
The Bad
2020: The downfall of Carson Wentz
The year we’d all love to forget. A 3-8-1 record highlighted all of his mechanical faults and it didn’t take long for the wheels to fall off the wagon.
Carson Wentz averaged a career-low 218.3 YPG, was sacked 50 times (although 11 were his fault), and was on pace for 66 sacks.
The fumbles
While not every single one of his fumbles are his fault, he had a lot.
Through a quarterback’s first five years of his career, Wentz’s 58 fumbles rank fourth all-time. He’s four behind Tony Banks, nine behind Daunte Culpepper, and ten behind David Carr.
He was averaging .853 fumbles per game, which averages to 3.4 fumbles over four games (the number of games he did not play in 2020). It’s safe to assume Wentz could’ve been third on this list if he played the whole season.
Are ya going to throw the ball?
Every time Wentz snapped the ball it seemed like a whole quarter elapsed by the time he let the ball go.
No, it’s not entirely his fault for that. It’s a combination of receivers not getting open and the offensive line being turnstiles and making Wentz run for his life.
But for the most part, Wentz was seemingly trying to play hero ball on every snap. When he threw the ball away, you could hear a collective “he did WHAT?!” in the Philadelphia area.
His time to throw in 2020 was 2.91 seconds, sixth-longest in the NFL. Jalen Hurts was last with 3.11, but you could argue his running ability extended that time. The others were Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson. All of them with some (or a lot of) running ability and/or better offensive lines.
He was holding the ball longer than he did in 2019 (2.71), 2018 (2.66), 2017 (2.72), and 2016 (2.65).
While the offensive line’s protection was akin to a fence trying to contain a flood, Wentz did himself no favors by acting like it was illegal to get rid of the ball.
Overall
From years 1-4, Wentz had the lowest interception % among QBs with 1000 or more passing attempts (1.7). Mahomes’ 2020 pushed Wentz into second place. However, Wentz’s 2020 pushed him down the list for QBs within the first five years. His performance this past season pushed his 1.7% to 2.01%, which is still good for sixth on the list.
The 35 INTs through his first four seasons remains the fewest among QBs with 2000+ attempts. The 15 INT performance in 2020 pushed him down to fourth-fewest among QBs through five seasons.
His 97 TDs are tied with Dak Prescott for 11th most TDs within a player’s first four seasons. While a 30 TD season could’ve pushed him to third on the list in a player’s first five seasons, his 16 TDs leave him at 11th.
He averaged 253.4 YPG within his first four years (11th most all-time), but his 2020 pushed him down to 247.2 (13th most all-time).
Instead of climbing up the leaderboards, Wentz’s 2020 kept him in the “above average” territory for most passing categories.
Other Carson Wentz tidbits
Wentz’s favorite targets:
Wentz’s TD passes (player, round drafted, total by position):
For better or for worse, Carson Wentz is no longer a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s had his bad moments, but there is absolutely no denying his positive impact on the franchise.
His final Eagles ranks:
Passing yards: fourth
Passing TDs: fourth
Interceptions (minimum 1000+ passes): fourth fewest
Rating (minimum 1000+ passes): second
YPG: first
Completion % (minimum 1000+ passes): second
Passing TDs in a season: first
Passing yards in a season: first
Games started: fifth
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
