Will Kelley and Parker Cane
Staff Writers
Carson Wentz, the Eagles savior. Last year in the 2016 NFL draft Carson Wentz, the six-foot-six, 240-pound quarterback out of North Dakota State was drafted. In his college career, he lead his team to back to back NCAA Division 1 FCS national championships in 2014 and 2015. His record as a starter was 20-3 in the two seasons. Wentz went 2nd overall after Jared Goff the new addition to the newly moved Los Angeles Rams. Many people were sceptical about Carson Wentz because he didn’t come out of “Top line” colleges like other top five picks like. Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State), Jared Goff (Cal), Joey Bosa (Ohio State), and top pick cornerback Jalen Ramsey out of FSU. The Eagles 3-0 hot start was no joke. Right now, Carson Wentz has seven TDS, one interception, 1,186 yards and RPG of 99.9. Very good for a rookie quarterback in his first couple of games. Carson Wentz’s play was exceptional, he passed for 770 scrimmage yards mostly to WR Jordan Matthews and led the Eagles to 3 straight wins. The Eagles Offense was very good these first three games of the season but due to a recent suspension, star Right Tackle Lane Johnson was suspended for performance enhancing drugs. He will miss up to week 14 of the Eagles season.
Three Sundays ago, the Eagles faced the new young Detroit Lions, star receiver Marvin Jones and QB Matthew Stafford combined for 205 receiving yards. Carson Wentz had a very good game but late game pressure caused an interception to seal the game, many people called this a typical “rookie mistake.” Two Sundays ago the Eagles played the Redskins at Washington. The Redskins put tremendous pressure on Wentz even on the first play of the game. Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan sacked Wentz for a loss of six yards, in the process he ripped Wentz’s jersey almost in half. Throughout the game the Eagles offensive line struggled due to the loss of Lane Johnson and outside Linebackers had an easy path right to Wentz’s back.
Last weekend the Eagles played the hot 5-0 Vikings at home at 1:00 PM. The Eagles played exceptional on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 10 points and only 282 yards, much better than the previous weeks. The defense sacked Sam Bradford six times and got hit 12 times. In the first couple minutes of the game, Wentz turned the ball over three times in 10 minutes and had two interceptions. He was picked off twice by star cornerback Xavier Rhodes. The game was almost scoreless heading into halftime, but a speech by head coach Doug Pederson, probably talked some pep into the Eagles. The Eagles came out on the second half very hot and hungry. They forced the Vikings to a field goal their first drive. On the following kickoff, Josh Huff, draft pick out of Oregon State returned the kick for a 98-yard touchdown. The Eagles defense continued to have success and force Bradford to throw away the ball. Dropped passes hurt the Vikings. The Eagles offense played well, chipping away at the Vikings’ defense throughout the game. Screen passes to Ryan Mathews and Nelson Agholor helped to the Eagles get big yardage gains. With the score being 24-3,the Vikings had a late game touchdown but the Eagles were able to hold them off and continue their playoff quest.
