Carson Wentz looked more like the efficient quarterback we saw in the first four games of the season in the Eagles' 24-15 win over the Falcons on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field (see Instant Replay).
Wentz finished the game 25 of 36 for 231 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Doug Pederson put his rookie signal caller in a position to succeed with better, more balanced play calling. Wentz also looked more poised in the pocket. His footwork was sound and he was driving the football.
Let's take a look at some of the key plays — good and bad — for Wentz on the day.
1st quarter, 7:51, 1st-and-10 at PHI 49, Eagles 0, Falcons, 0
An underrated aspect of Wentz's game is his ability to carry out fakes. It's something you don't think about often, but coming from a run-first, pro-style offense at North Dakota State, Wentz excels at being under center and throwing out of play action. After a quick fake to Ryan Mathews to the left to freeze the linebackers, Wentz steps into his throw and fires an accurate ball to Jordan Matthews on a slant.
1st quarter, 2:37, 2nd-and-1 at PHI 22, Eagles 7, Falcons 0
This is a great play call and another excellent couple of fakes from Wentz. Wentz fakes the handoff to Mathews to the right, then fakes it to Bryce Treggs on an end around, he then delivers an accurate ball to Mathews for a gain of 20 yards. It's an excellent design on the screen but doesn't succeed without good protection and precise footwork from Wentz.
2nd quarter, :08, 4th-and-1 at ATL 48, Eagles 7, Falcons 6
This was a rookie mistake, plain and simple. With eight seconds left in the half, the Eagles line up for a Hail Mary attempt. It looks like Pederson tries to sneak a couple receivers to the sideline for a quick completion and field-goal attempt, but the Falcons are ready for it. With the sideline covered up, Wentz throws it away. Wentz could've just launched it into the end zone, ran for the first down or ran until a receiver broke open. Really, almost any option would've been better than throwing it away.
3rd quarter, 2:02, 2nd-and-12 at ATL 34, Eagles 10, Falcons 9
We haven't seen a ton of this from Wentz so far this season. Pederson called a couple disastrous read-option runs last week, but he only calls those because of Wentz's athleticism. On this play, Wentz drops back, goes through his progressions and doesn't see anyone open. Instead of throwing it away or into coverage, Wentz pulls the ball down, tucks it away and runs for the first down. The 13-yard run was the longest of Wentz's short career.
NFL
4th quarter, 10:25, 1st-and-10, PHI 24, Falcons 15, Eagles 13
This play sets up the Eagles' whole touchdown drive. The Falcons are in man coverage and rookie safety Keanu Neal is singled up on Zach Ertz. This is a matchup Ertz should win all day. He beats Neal right down the seam and Wentz hits Ertz with a strike for a 19-yard gain. For the rest of the drive, Atlanta settles into a zone and Wentz just picks them apart with a barrage of short passes to Ertz and Darren Sproles.
4th quarter, 4:06, 3rd-and-1 at PHI 37, Eagles 21, Falcons 15
The drops, man. When does it end? Admittedly, Wentz makes a poor throw on a slant to Nelson Agholor, but Agholor has to make this catch. It ultimately doesn't wind up hurting the Eagles, but this could've gone a long way to seal the win.
Overall analysis
This was a bounce-back game for Wentz and also for Pederson as a play caller. Wentz was decisive, efficient and accurate, and a lot of the credit has to go to Pederson for balancing out the offense and setting Wentz up to succeed. Wentz's footwork was a mess in the loss to the Giants. In this game, he was so much more sound in the pocket and delivered the ball with accuracy and velocity. There also has to be a hat tip to the offensive line, which allowed Wentz to get comfortable in the pocket and helped to establish the run game early on.