Understandably, Carson Wentz struggled in the Eagles' 26-15 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday (see Instant Replay).
The rookie signal-caller finished the game 23 of 45 for 218 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Doug Pederson called a decent game against Seattle's vaunted defense, but the Eagles were once again haunted by poor receiver play and mental lapses (see Roob's 10 observations from the loss).
Here's a breakdown of some of Wentz's plays on Sunday:
1st quarter, 0:23, 2nd-and-9 at SEA 28, Seahawks 6, Eagles 0
Pederson used a lot exotic formations in the first half. On this play, Trey Burton is initially lined up out wide to the left but motions to the backfield in the fullback position. Brent Celek is lined up in a traditional tight end spot on the right. The protection is decent but the line does allow a little pressure outside. Wentz calmly steps up in the pocket and delivers a strike to Celek. This piece is about Wentz, but the most impressive part of this play is that Celek flat out beats Richard Sherman. Seriously.
2nd quarter, 14:13, 2nd-and-Goal at SEA 4, Seahawks 6, Eagles 0
I love this design. The Eagles have three tight ends on the field in a goal line situation, but they're lined up trips to the left, with Jordan Matthews as the lone receiver lined up wide right. Zach Ertz runs a smash route - making Kam Chancellor think he's running an out, but instead making a quick cut back inside. Wentz gets great protection, hits Ertz in stride and Ertz makes a great second effort and reaches for the end zone.
2nd quarter, 0:24, 1st-and-10 at 50, Seahawks 16, Eagles 7
This is a rookie mistake. Chancellor baits Wentz into this throw by disguising the coverage. Wentz stares down Dorial Green-Beckham on a post and it's an easy pick for Chancellor. My questions is: Why not spike the ball here? You have a first down at midfield. Why not spike it, regroup, and figure out how to pick up a few more yards for a field-goal attempt?
3rd quarter, 9:56, 2nd-and-6 at PHI 6, Seahawks 16, Eagles 7
I don't have the slightest clue what Wentz is thinking here. It's a similar design to the 58-yard play Wentz hit Bryce Treggs on against the Giants. It's a big formation with Treggs being the only receiver on the field. He's lined up wide right and across from Sherman. Sherman is with Treggs step for step and Earl Thomas is right on time with the help. This is a bad decision. No other way to put it.
NFL
3rd quarter, 6:17, 3rd-and-2 at PHI 33, Seahawks 23, Eagles 7
Couldn't figure out which drop was worse: Nelson Agholor's after committing an awful penalty that negated a huge play or Matthews' on this play. I went with Matthews' drop because of the time it came in the game. The Seahawks just scored a touchdown to stretch their lead. The game appeared to be getting away from the Eagles. A decent drive could've gone a long way to calming things down. Instead, Matthews finds the soft spot in the zone and Wentz hits him right in the hands. Drop. Three-and-out.
Overall analysis
Wentz struggled. Plain and simple. But he's a rookie playing against arguably the best defense in the NFL over the last five years. It's understandable. What's not understandable is a second-year wideout with a complete mental error that negated a huge play — followed by a drop — and the team's best receiver dropping a huge third-down pass that him right in the hands. Wentz's play has gone up and down all season. The wide receivers have just been bad.