Redskins 27, Eagles 20: Evaluating Carson Wentz

Share

Carson Wentz looked like a rookie at times in the Eagles' 27-20 loss to the Redskins at FedEx Field on Sunday (see Instant Replay).
 
A big part of that was the pressure he faced and a recurring theme of his receivers not making plays. He finished the game 11 of 22 for 179 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
 
Let's took a look at a few plays by the Eagles' starting quarterback.
 
1st quarter, 7:20, 3rd and 10, PHI 20 - Score tied, 0-0
There isn't a ton to go over from the first half. Wentz was under constant pressure and was inaccurate. And as we've seen, if Wentz misses, he misses high.
 
On this play, he did not miss. In fact, he made an absolutely gorgeous throw to Jordan Matthews on a big third-down play. Matthews caught it but couldn't get his feet in bounds. This is something I'm sure Matthews, who is without a doubt the hardest worker of the team's receivers, practices all the time. The first down would have been a huge confidence boost for a struggling Wentz and a struggling offense. Matthews has to make this play.
 
3rd quarter, 5:23, 3rd and 11, PHI 35 - Redskins 24, Eagles 14
This looked like the play that would break open the game and spark the Eagles' comeback. The Redskins showed a heavy blitz and brought it. Wentz avoided the rush — somehow — moving to his left and found Dorial Green-Beckham for a 38-yard gain. Wentz was a magician getting out of the pocket and delivered a perfect ball to Green-Beckham on the run. A Wendell Smallwood block in the back penalty negated this play.
 
4th quarter, 14:55, 3rd and 14, PHI 21 - Redskins 24, Eagles 14
What an incredible throw in a clutch situation. With his back foot on his own 10-yard line, Wentz throws a bomb to Matthews for a 54-yard completion. The ball travels nearly 60 yards in the air and hits Matthews perfectly in stride. Matthews runs a straight go route down the seam and, to his credit, gets great hand position over the defender and catches it despite his left arm getting tugged while the ball is arriving. If the Eagles ever get a true deep threat, Wentz has plenty of arm and plenty of accuracy on his deep ball to be even more dangerous.
 
4th quarter, 8:30, 1st and 20, PHI 33 - Redskins 27, Eagles 17
Man, this kid is special. After another penalty, the Eagles line up trips right. Green-Beckham runs a dig route and gets lost in the Redskins' zone. Wentz rips a ball 20 yards down the field for an easy completion. DGB is a nice, big target for Wentz, especially with Wentz's propensity to throw high. On the very next play, Wentz sees blitz, changes the play and rips another 20-plus yard completion to Zach Ertz. He froze the linebacker by looking left and then going to Ertz down the right seam. The biggest thing on both of these plays is Wentz has time. With protection, this kid will pick secondaries apart.
 
4th quarter, 3:30, 3rd and 9, PHI 34 - Redskins 27, Eagles 20
Brandon Brooks gets totally undressed on this play by Chris Baker. Baker has a free run at Wentz and he, again, somehow avoids the rush, steps up in the pocket and delivers an 18-yard dime to Nelson Agholor. This play looked like the Eagles would be in a prime position to score. But then …
 
4th quarter, 2:06, 2nd and 6, WAS 43 - Redskins 27, Eagles 20
The line protects Wentz well here, but he holds on to the ball for way too long and takes a huge sack. It appeared he had Ertz as a safety valve open in the flat. He's just got to take the short completion to Ertz and live to play another down. To make things worse, he takes another coverage sack on the very next play which forces the Eagles to punt. Another concern: None of the Eagles' receivers could get open for Wentz.
 
Overall analysis
Wentz barely had the ball in the first half, and when he did, he was let down by his protection and his receivers. In the second half, he hung in there despite getting sacked five times in the game and being under duress for most of the day. The two sacks at the end of the game were definitely on Wentz, but he'll learn from it. He's still way ahead of schedule and showed more positives than negatives, nearly bringing his team back from another early deficit.

Contact Us