Carson Wentz has struggled through the first three weeks of the NFL season. Beyond his team recording a disappointing winless record, the 27-year-old has been historically bad. He is the first Philly quarterback with a pair of picks in each of the first three outings of a season in 58 years.
Wentz’s 63.7 passer rating is the worst in the league, his six total picks lead all quarterbacks, and his 5.6 yards per passing attempt puts him at the bottom of the NFL.
That is not the sort of production the Eagles were hoping for when they signed Wentz to a deal that will pay him $132 million over the next four seasons – with $108 million guaranteed.
Things are getting spicy in the SEC. https://t.co/s9HNhVlZBu
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 30, 2020
This week, Wentz sat down in front of the media and attempted to address why he has been struggling.
“I don’t want to overthink it, I know coaches and everybody don’t want to overanalyze anything, because we’re not far off,” Wentz said.
“We’ve just got to protect the football and execute at a higher level and I think we can do that.”
As far as Wentz is concerned, the problems are not irreparable.
“I think the biggest thing, there’s no doubt about it, is just taking care of the football,” he said.
“We make some plays as a whole offensively, we do some really good things and move the ball and just the turnovers are really killing us. I’ve got to be better than that, and I know that and it’s something that I’ve looked into.
“I’ve critiqued myself hard and I’ve got to be better and kind of set the example on that front, but we’re really not far off offensively. They’re all correctable things and things that we can get going in the right way and I’m confident that they will.”
Things are getting interesting. https://t.co/JtIJSWaNyD
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 30, 2020
So far, Wentz’s biggest takeaway is to not overthink things.
“For me, it’s just trust myself and not try to overthink and do too much,” he said.
“Interceptions have never been a huge storyline in my career so I don’t want to overanalyze that either. I want to not shy away from letting it rip and playing fast. … Continue to be myself and not overdoing things.”
Last week, a report emerged that Wentz was playing poorly because he felt rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts creeping up behind him.
“I lived that situation,” Ron Jaworski said.
“I still remember draft day: ‘Oh, the Eagles drafted Randall Cunningham in the second round. OK, the clock is ticking!’ You know that, so you know that you have to raise your level of (play), and there’s an added amount of pressure.
“This is four years after I’m the league MVP, the highest-paid player in the NFL, all of a sudden they draft a quarterback. Everyone has a shelf life, and you begin to feel that pressure.”
This is getting very messy very quickly. https://t.co/AvTXsxPL0R
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 30, 2020
ESPN’s Tim McManus agreed with that idea.
“I can’t say to what degree Carson feels the pressure, but he’s aware of it,” he said.
“You know as a player the minute you struggle a little bit, you start hearing it from the fans, you start hearing it from the coaches in the meeting room, you start seeing a little giddy-up in the guy who wants your job.
“All those things start to filter into your thinking and clearly — clearly — I believe that has an effect on him.”
Well that’s unexpected. https://t.co/VO2zlljMs6
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 29, 2020
Before this season started, the idea of Hurts replacing Wentz seemed ludicrous. Based on how he has been playing up to this point, though – it suddenly sounds much more realistic.
If Wentz doesn’t get it together, and quickly, his worst fear is going to become a reality and he’ll end up watching the rest of this season from the bench.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
