Carson Wentz got off to a horrendous start but settled in during the Eagles' 28-23 loss to the Giants on Sunday (see Instant Replay).
Wentz finished the game 27 of 47 for 364 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The big play finally made an appearance for the offense, with Wentz having four completions over 30 yards. He also finally got on the same page with tight end Zach Ertz, with Ertz grabbing eight catches for 97 yards.
Wentz was again plagued by bad play calling, including multiple read option plays that went nowhere.
Let's take a look at some of the important plays from Wentz's performance.
1st quarter, 13:29, 2nd-and-3 at PHI 35, Eagles 0, Giants 0
On the Eagles' second offensive play, Wentz makes a bad decision and an even worse throw. He gets pressure up the middle, rolls out to his right and overthrows it to a pretty well covered Nelson Agholor. Wentz is outside the pocket with plenty of time and it's only 2nd-and-3. This ball needs to be thrown away. As I've mentioned in this space, if Wentz misses, it's usually high.
1st quarter, 11:05, 3rd-and-5 at PHI 30, Giants 7, Eagles 0
Wentz throws this one high yet again. He steps up into a clogged pocket and can't step into the throw. His poor throws in the first half were a result of bad footwork, some caused by pressure and others just rushed. Again, it appears Dorial Green-Beckham is covered and there's no reason to throw the football. He needs to just take the sack and let the team punt it away.
1st quarter, 0:42, 2nd-and-6 at NYG 27, Giants 14, Eagles 3
Another throw where Wentz doesn't have his feet set properly. He has decent protection and Jordan Matthews gets behind the secondary. This ball is actually underthrown and tipped by a defender just enough to throw off Matthews' timing in catching it. This play would've been a touchdown on a drive that ended in a turnover on downs.
2nd quarter, 13:44, 1st-and-10 at PHI 30, Giants 14, Eagles 3
The Eagles have been lacking explosive plays. Enter Bryce Treggs. The undrafted rookie played his first NFL game and gave Wentz a vertical threat. It was a nice play call by Doug Pederson. The Eagles have a big formation out there with Treggs as the only receiver on the field lined out wide to the left. The Giants are in a zone and they let Treggs get behind them. Treggs just runs straight down the field on a go route. The ball is actually slightly underthrown. If Wentz gets a little more on it, Treggs probably goes to the house. But hey, the 58-yard completion set up a touchdown two plays later.
4th quarter, 15:00, 3rd-and-1 at NYG 30, Giants 28, Eagles 17
What a huge play from Wentz. The Eagles roll out a big formation and bring in Ryan Mathews. They fake it left to Mathews and Wentz rolls right. With a defender bearing down on him, Wentz drops a ball perfectly to Zach Ertz, who was running across the formation for 15 yards and a huge first down.
4th quarter, 4:01, 3rd-and-10 at NYG 21, Giants 28, Eagles 20
This was a high throw caused by pressure. Wentz has Green-Beckham on a skinny post with great inside position. A throw on the money is either a touchdown or sets up a 1st-and-goal. Jason Peters allows Jason Pierre-Paul to get inside position and affect the throw.
4th quarter, 1:28, 4th and 10 at NYG 17, Giants 28, Eagles 23
Steve Spagnuolo deserves all the credit for the Eagles' stalling on their last drive. He sent heavy pressure on every play and Wentz had no chance to make anything happen. On the last play, it would've taken a perfect throw by Wentz and a great adjustment and catch by Matthews.
Overall analysis
Wentz couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. With that said, he fought threw it and the Eagles had a chance to win the game with under two minutes to play. For the most part, the offensive line handled pressure well. Wentz's footwork was sloppy at times, throwing off his back foot and not driving the ball. Again, Wentz was failed by his head coach on several occasions. There were a lot of encouraging signs from the rookie, but the early turnovers can't happen.
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