Stats: 32/44, 360 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 102.5 QB Rating
Let’s start with the Bad:
The first half
The First half was very un-Wentz like.
Stats: 10/17, 104 yards, 1 INT, 52.1 QB rating.
The interception was sloppy. A look left and throw back to the right basically without even looking. Leighton Vander-Esch is a hell of a football player and made a big time play jumping this throw that was intended for Ertz.
.@VanderEsch38 picks off Carson Wentz!
📺: @snfonnbc #DallasCowboys https://t.co/Bgm21A643b
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2018
3:36 left in the 2nd Quarter
At the end of the half, Wentz had the Eagles moving.
-Pass complete to Nelson Agholor for 13 yards
-Pass complete to Zach Ertz for 11 yards
-Pass complete to Zach Ertz for 11 yards
The Eagles were in business with a 1st and 10 from the Dallas 38 with 1:53 left.
-Pass incomplete intended for Corey Clement
-Pass incomplete intended for Alshon Jeffery
This is a throw Wentz makes 9/10 times. Alshon found a soft spot in the coverage, but Wentz was unable to put enough air on it.
-Pass incomplete intended for Zach Ertz
Then the Eagles settled for a 56 yard field goal.
Missed opportunity
The first drive of the second half, 3rd and 7 from the Cowboys 8 yard line, another throw that Wentz will make 9/10 times, over the middle to Alshon Jeffery in the end zone just a hair too far in front of him. Should have been a TD.
Alshon can also take some blame for this as well, a better route could have made life easier on Wentz.
Wentz and Jeffery can't connect on 3rd-and-7 and Eagles settle for 3 pic.twitter.com/75eHnnLWSb
— Kansas More Chaints (@AdrianFedkiw) November 12, 2018
The difference in a field goal and a touchdown was Carson Wentz reading man and Alshon Jeffrey reading zone. #Eagles #flyEaglesfly
— Garry Cobb (@GarryCobb) November 12, 2018
The second to last drive
You can’t blame Wentz for the 3rd and 1 screen pass call. It was a bad play call with worse execution.
However, I am going to blame him (and Ertz) for the 4th down play.
You have to throw that ball at or beyond the sticks. At the same time, you need to run your route at or beyond the sticks. But since this is the Wentz report and not the Ertz report, I have to put this on the QB.
These two showed off their amazing rapport all night, but were unable to make a play when it mattered most.
The Good:
Second Half
Wentz was much, much better in the second half (minus the last two drives and the missed throw to Alshon.)
Stats: 22/27, 256 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTS, 130.86 QB rating
TD drive # 1
Wentz went 5/6, 59 yards and a TD on this drive.
3rd and 11 pass to Jordan Matthews was a perfectly thrown ball that went for 18 yards.
The very next play was a RPO. Wentz read the defense and then threw another dart to Matthews for 12 more yards.
Wentz then capped it off with a 15 yard strike to Zach Ertz.
Wentz. Ertz. SIX.
And a very special #SaluteToService.
📺: @snfonnbc #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/ujbg71cxRx
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2018
TD drive # 2
Wentz went 4/4 for 61 yards and a TD on this drive.
They finally took a deep shot, and the pass was right on the money..
CARSON WENTZ GOES DEEEEEEP!
📺: @snfonnbc #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/nHbWcHmnsX
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2018
He would finish off the drive with his second TD pass to who other but Zach Ertz..
.@CJ_Wentz@ZERTZ_86.
ANOTHER TD!And Carson is the cameraman now 😂
📺: @snfonnbc #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/GH5SWIubpk
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2018
Connection with Ertz
These two are on another wave length.
Ertz was targeted 16 times and caught 14 balls for 145 yards and 2 TDs.
https://twitter.com/TorreySmithWR/status/1061830306318168065
Final thoughts
Similar to last season vs Dallas, this was a tale of two halves for Carson Wentz.
The first half just wasn’t up to his standards.
I tweeted the Dak had completely outplayed Wentz in the first half. That wasn’t exactly a compliment for Dak, it was more of and indictment on Wentz.
Kudos to Dak Prescott who was taking what the defense was giving him and making the most of it.
In the second half Wentz was back to his normal self. He completed 15 straight passes at one point, but it wasn’t enough.
The Eagles lost this game for a number of reasons.
Their offense as a whole is just out of whack. And what’s even more concerning is the lack of evolution.
It’s tough for the RPO’s to work with a 14-44 run-pass ratio.
I also don’t think the RPO-Foles offense is suitable for a player of Wentz’s caliber, but I’ll save that for another day.
Wentz had defensive lineman in his face pretty much all night long, and if it wasn’t d-lineman in his face, it was his own o-lineman getting driven back into his lap.
I could go on and on. There were A LOT of contributing factors for this loss, and plenty of blame to go around.
Was this Wentz’s best performance ever? No, it was far from it.
Unfortunately he didn’t win the game for the Eagles, but he certainly didn’t lose the game for them either.
Grade: C-
For comparison
Wentz/Dak head-to-head
Carson Wentz:
32/44, 360 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 102.5 QB Rating
Dak Prescott:
26/36 270 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, 102.8 QB Rating
After Prescott outplayed Wentz in the first half, Wentz was far and away the better QB in the second half. However, Prescott was good enough in this one. He didn’t do anything overly impressive, but he continued to take advantage of a soft Eagles defense, and got the job done in the end.
The series is now 2-1 in favor of Dak.
-A comparison that I keep going back to is year three Tom Brady vs year three Wentz.
Through week 10:
2018 Wentz: 7 games (4-5 team record)
191/269 (71.0 completion percentage) 2,148 yards, 15 TDs, 3 ints, 108.5 QB rating
2002 Tom Brady: 9 games (5-4 team record)
243/370 (65 percent completion percentage) 2,472 yards, 21 TDs, 10 INTs, 92.3 QB rating
If there is any silver lining to this season it’s that the 2002 Patriots, who were coming off of a Super Bowl title, went 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Of course we know what happened from there.
Updated league ranks
Yards: 21st (2,148)
Yards per-game: 6th (307)
Yards per-attempt: 8th (7.99)
TDS: 18th (15)
Completion %: 5th (71.0)
QB Rating: 7th (108.5)