Is it Finally Time for the Eagles to Turn to Jalen hurts?
Yesterday afternoon in their 30-16 loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson benched starting quarterback Carson Wentz. In to replace was rookie Jalen Hurts, whom the Eagles drafted in the second round of this past year’s draft.
Hurts came in and provided a little bit of a spark for Philadelphia, but that jolt was not enough for the team to overcome Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
So with Carson Wentz’s benching, the aforementioned Pederson was faced with a barrage of questions regarding who the quarterback will be next week. His answer? Nothing anybody wanted to hear.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson didn’t commit to a starting QB for next week but will consider everything “before anything is decided.”
Today vs. Green Bay:
Hurts: 5/12, 138 total yds, TD, INT
Wentz: 6/15, 97 total yds pic.twitter.com/QZZGIDrRr9— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 7, 2020
Now I don’t blame Pederson for saying this, but this act has been seen before. Either Pederson starts Wentz and pulls him again, or he just goes with Hurts for next week’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
So with that being said, there is no point in starting Carson Wentz anymore. Wentz, the former second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, has not shown anything this season that screams “I deserve to be on the field”. He currently leads the league with 15 interceptions, and has a lowly 58.1% completion rate.
Wentz did show once upon a time that he was a stud signal-caller that any team would love to have. But that was back in 2017. And since that season- which was unfortunately ended for him due to a torn ACL- he has not been the same player. In fact, since he has comeback from that injury, he has continued to get worse every year.
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | Rate | QBR | Sk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017* | 25 | PHI | QB | 13 | 13 | 11-2-0 | 265 | 440 | 60.2 | 3296 | 33 | 7.5 | 7 | 1.6 | 101.9 | 77.2 | 28 |
| 2018 | 26 | PHI | QB | 11 | 11 | 5-6-0 | 279 | 401 | 69.6 | 3074 | 21 | 5.2 | 7 | 1.7 | 102.2 | 62.6 | 31 |
| 2019 | 27 | PHI | QB | 16 | 16 | 9-7-0 | 388 | 607 | 63.9 | 4039 | 27 | 4.4 | 7 | 1.2 | 93.1 | 64.8 | 37 |
| 2020 | 28 | PHI | QB | 11 | 11 | 3-7-1 | 245 | 422 | 58.1 | 2541 | 16 | 3.8 | 15 | 3.6 | 73.4 | 49.6 | 46 |
| Care | Care | 67 | 67 | 35-31-1 | 1556 | 2477 | 62.8 | 16732 | 113 | 4.6 | 50 | 2.0 | 89.4 | 175 |
The argument can be made that Wentz hasn’t had the same weapons / offensive line, but if you are that good of a quarterback you can make do with what you have. And that definitely doesn’t mean you have to make dumb turnovers over and over again.
Carson Wentz finds a wide open Quandre Diggs in the end zone 😅pic.twitter.com/Z8UkWpFLaA
— PFF (@PFF) December 1, 2020
Without a doubt, Wentz’s time in Philadelphia is coming to in an end. He continues to make too many mistakes, as Philadelphia continues to lose and struggle offensively.
Now should all of the blame be placed on Wentz? No, but the quarterback position is the most important job for a NFL team. And when a team has a QB playing like crap game in and game out (like Wentz), there is very little chance of victory.
So, Coach Pederson, start Jalen Hurts. He provided some offense to a team that has been seriously lacking in positive plays this season. His athletic ability on the ground helps the team move the ball down the field, and at the end of the day that is goal of the offense: move the ball. Something that Carson Wentz’s has been unable to do in 2020.
– Jarrod Ribaudo (@jarrod_ribaudo)
Featured image courtesy of Twitter / @AdamSchefter