Wentz needs to play much better, but Eagles not making it easy on their quarterback

The Eagles are 0-2-1 and Carson Wentz obviously is not playing great football.

His completion percentage is 59.8%, which is considerably lower than the first three games during his rookie season. He has the lowest passer rating of any starting quarterback in the league. He also has six interceptions after throwing just seven in each of the past three seasons.

Add it up and the Eagles are averaging less than 20 points a game, and the next two are at San Francisco and at Pittsburgh, both Top 3 defenses, so it can get worse before it starts to get any better.

Watching the Eagles on film, Wentzis doing things that are going to lead to questions. Doug Pederson is going to keep getting, “Should Jalen Hurts be the starting quarterback?” Pederson fired back and defended his quarterback, like he should, and I don’t think it’s time for Hurts to go in.

There are a lot of things going on in Philadelphia that always come back to the quarterback, and that’s just the way it is. Wentz does have to play better, but the Eagles also have to get healthy and they have to get better.

They’re in a situation where a lot needs to be fixed.

It always comes back to the QB

The Eagles had some rough injuries before the season even started, losing a former first-round pick in Andre Dillard at left tackle and a Pro Bowler in Brandon Brooks at right guard, and what was supposed to be one of the best offensive lines in the NFL right now is kind of a patchwork of guys.

They’re trying to plug guys in and they’re doing what they can, but there are a lot of teams in that position so you can’t just point to those injuries and say, “That’s why Wentz is struggling.”

There has to be more to it, so then you go to the skill guys.

Is DeSean Jackson still what he was? I would say, yes, I think his speed is still in the top 5% in the league.

The problem is, that’s pretty much it.

There are a lot of times on film where Wentz is looking in the wrong direction, and when you see that he’s either confused by what the defense is doing or he’s locking in and trying to force it into Zach Ertz.

Ertz is the guy who Wentz has a lot of confidence in and when you watch them play, he’s looking for Ertz a lot, almost to his detriment. Wentz should be throwing the football where the coverage dictates based on his route concepts, and that’s not always the case.

But Alshon Jeffrey, who was the Eagles’ top outside guy in targets and receptions last season, hasn’t played yet because of a foot injury. Nelson Agholor, who was No. 2, is with the Raiders.

A lot was expected from Dallas Goedert, but he has missed some opportunities to make a play, and now he’s going to miss some time with a foot injury. Jalen Reagor, their first-round pick, was out last week with a thumb injury and he’s going to miss some time. Jacson played less than 30 snaps against the Bengals, due to a hamstring strain.

The other guys are hit and miss. Wentz will throw a good ball, and it’s dropped or it ends up as an incompletion. As a quarterback, you’re thinking, “Well, I’m going to go back to my old reliable guy.”

They need someone to step up opposite Ertz.

Wentz could be one piece away

Look at what Justin Jefferson, a rookie receiver, just did for the Vikings. Minnesota had to find a way to run the football better and had to have someone step up opposite Adam Thielen, and Jefferson went out and had seven catches for 175 yards and a touchdown.

They didn’t win, but they put up 30 points and they lost to the Titans, a 3-0 football team, and now they’re going to play with a lot more confidence.

That same thing has to happen in Philly. The Eagles need somebody to be that guy opposite Ertz, to where defenses have to pay attention to him.

I’m going to put a little bit on Pederson, too. Watching film from across the league, there are some really creative guys out there – just think Chiefs, Monday night. That’s a next level offense. They already have the most talented quarterback and they have one of the most talented play designers, also?

Pederson can help his quarterback in that way.

He’s behind the game, and that’s what happens when you get stuck. Andy Reid, he’s always one step ahead of the defense. It feels like when Pederson is calling plays now, he’s in a rut. He’s calling a screen on third-and-long, just normal stuff. If you’re in Defensive Coordinator 101 you’ll get asked, “What’s going to happen on third-and-long?” The easy answer is, “Well, probably a screen,” and there it is.

Pederson needs to get his creative juices going a little bit and help create some offense for his quarterback and get a spark going. That would go a long way.

Another fantasy matchup too good to ignore

The Colts defense scored more points last week than a lot of backs and receivers, so we’ll go back to that side of the ball, and there is another prime matchup with Baltimore at Washington. The Ravens just gave up a monster night to Patrick Mahomes, but that’s still one of the best defenses in the league and Washington is really struggling. Baltimore could make it pretty ugly for them, especially after what just happened against the Chiefs.

This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 12:25 PM.