Stats: 20/28, 236 yards, 1 TD, 108.6 QB rating
The Good:
TD Drive
With 4:06 left in the half, Wentz finally went to work.
He started off with one of his best balls of the day, a 24 yard strike to Zach Ertz.
He was 5/6 for 75 yards on this drive, and capped it off with a 15 yard TD pass to who else but Zach Ertz.
11 to 86 for 6.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/YKJiP1XDrk
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 25, 2018
The Ertz Connection
I pretty much highlighted this in the last section, but the Wentz/Ertz connection is one of the best in the entire NFL.
Wentz targeted Ertz 8 times, and connected with him 7 times for 91 yards, and the 15 yard score.
They were in rhythm all day long. Wentz looks his most comfortable when targeting # 86.
No turnovers
Wentz was turnover free for the first time since week 6 vs these same New York Giants.
He had committed 7 turnovers over the last 4 games including three last week. So this was a big bounce back.
The Final drive
Carson Wentz proved that he can indeed lead a game winning drive.
He was 3/3 for 43 yards, including the biggest play of the game, 4th and 1, pass complete to Nelson Agholor right on the money.
The Bad :
Forcing the ball to Tate
Is it me or is Wentz trying too hard to get the ball to Golden Tate?
He targeted Tate 8 times, but they only connected on 4 of those 8.
Missed opportunity
On their second possession of the second half, the Eagles got the ball down to the Giants five yard line which set up a 3rd and 1. A Brandon Brooks false start pushed the ball back to the six yard line.
The false start obviously wasn’t Wentz’s fault, but the very next play, Wentz threw a terrible pass.
You can’t settle for a field goal in this situation. You need to punch it in for six, and that falls squarely on the QB.
No deep balls
I don’t know why the Eagles aren’t taking more shots down the field. Maybe it’s personnel, maybe it’s Wentz, I’m not sure what it is, but everything was short, short, short yesterday.
Wentz only attempted two “deep” passes. One complete to Ertz for 24 yards, and the other was on the first drive, overthrown intended for Tate.
Bad sacks
Wentz took two unnecessary sacks yesterday. One of which had everyone holding their breath….
He was also holding onto the ball too long at times. Again, this could be a personnel issue, but the ball needs to come out quicker.
Final thoughts
Was this a perfect performance?
No.
Was this 2017 Carson Wentz?
No.
Did he lead the Eagles on a game winning scoring drive?
YES.
I can’t complain too much here. He was turnover free and made plays when the Eagles needed them most.
There’s still something out of whack with this offense, and the questions I have from last week remain the same.
Are Wentz and Mike Groh/Press Taylor on the same page?
Doesn’t look like it.
Why aren’t they taking shots down the field?
Probably because they don’t have a deep threat.
Is Wentz fully back?
This may have been answered by Ian Rapoport yesterday….
#Eagles QB Carson Wentz has impressed in his return from an ACL/LCL injury. But one person with knowledge of his rehab explained why he's only scratching the surface in his recovery. He's not there yet. pic.twitter.com/LP03zFLE7C
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 25, 2018
Whatever the issues are, at least for this week Wentz was able to lead the Eagles to a much needed victory. Like I said, it wasn’t perfect, but given the fact that he was coming off of the worst game of his career last week in New Orleans, this was a nice bounce back for the third-year franchise QB.
Grade: C+
For comparison :
Third year Wentz vs Third year Brady vs Third year Rodgers
2018 Wentz: (9 games) 5-6 team record
230/330 (69.7) 2,540 yards, 16 TDs, 6 INTs, 100.8 QB rating
2002 Tom Brady: (11 games) 6-5 team record
282/434 (65%) 2,883 yards, 24 TDs, 10 INTs, 92.74 QB rating
2007 Aaron Rodgers: (Held a clipboard)
20/28, 218 yards, 1 TD, 106.0 QB rating
I bring Aaron Rodgers into this because I saw a tweet/article asking the question “Can Wentz can pull a 2016 Aaron Rodgers and lead the Eagles to the playoffs after starting 4-6?”
I thought that was a horrendous comparison.
Sure, Aaron Rodgers in his 12th season could (and did) lead Green Bay to the playoffs after a 4-6 start. In fact he led them all the way to the NFC Title Game. But in his third season Rodgers wasn’t leading the Packers to anything but the nearest water jug.
It’s ridiculous to compare Wentz in his third year, to Aaron Rodgers in his twelfth. Believe me, year three Wentz will be a lot different than year twelve Wentz.
Updated league ranks
Yards: 19th (2,540)
Yards-per-game: 11th (282)
Yard-per-attempt: 13th (7.70)
TDs: 19th (16)
Completion %: 4th (69.7%)
QB Rating: 11th (100.8)