McCaffery

the Eagles a chance to win a game on a day when circumstances were not conspiring to make that likely.

By the time Wentz entered for his first fourthquarter possession, the Eagles were trailing the Indianapolis Colts, their fans were leaking patience, and the threat of a two-game losing streak was growing. By the time he ran back off the field, that 11-minute, 18-second drive had lasted 17 plays, had stretched 75 yards, and had produced the deciding touchdown in the Eagles’ 20-16 victory, a four-yard Wendell Smallwood sprint.

“We just played our game,” Wentz said. “And we put people in the right spots.”

Wentz would be statistically presentable in his first start of the season, completing all but 12 of his 37 passes, good for 255 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. He was sacked five times. But while he won’t have to answer any Player of the Week questions before the Birds visit Tennessee Sunday, the elements of his welcome-back game hinted that has not been involved in the last MVP race of his career.

He was bouncy, just as the videos from training camp, leaked or choreographed, had shown. He was fluid, both running and passing. He showed no limp, no hint of lingering issues from that championship-season-ending injury. But what Wentz did most, and what the Eagles needed most, was project assuredness.

There they were, playing without Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles, Alshon Jeffery and Mike Wallace, four of the structures that were supposed to bear the offensive weight this season. Yet Wentz did not allow, nor show, panic. When he had to run, he did not hesitate. And though he was caught five times by a swarming Colts defense, it could have been eight times, or nine. Yet over and over, as he had throughout his early career, he made mystical escapes, typically finishing the plays with line-drive passes for vital yards.

“Yep, that’s Carson,” Corey Clement said. “You have to take the leash off of him. That guy, he’s always wired do to something great. Whether it’s on a pass or a run play, he’s going to sell it to the best of his ability and make sure he keeps the down alive.” Yep, that’s Carson. There’s a ring to that, a slogan in the making, something to print on a tee-shirt, or a cap. Yep, that’s Carson. That is exactly what makes Wentz different, even from Nick Foles, who only won a Super Bowl MVP since his last appearance. He worms his team out of trouble.

“It was exciting to get him back out there,” Doug Pederson said. “The whole week, just seeing him, how he was in the huddle, just talking with guys. He was communicating with the skill guys throughout the game today, and just getting back to his old self.”

Though the Eagles were determined to such a point that Pederson had turned grumpy about it not to permit Wentz to take Snap No. 1 without the say-so of doctors, there was a certain mystery Sunday about his readiness. Yet Wentz’s first drive since his surgery ended exactly like the last one before the injury: With a touchdown. It was exactly five minutes and 11 seconds after his return when he ended a 12-play, 79-yard affair with a 13yard pass to Dallas Goedert in the end zone.

“No matter what quarterback is out there, it’s always fun playing the game,” Goedert said. “But it was really cool having him out there. He’s passionate about the game. He loves the game. And it’s always fun playing with a guy that gives the energy he gives.”

So there was no transition period. Rust-shedding was unnecessary. There was no time for anyone to wonder if he was healthy or capable.

“It felt good to be out there,” Wentz said. “It was kind of a long time coming. There was a lot of excitement, a lot of emotions. But coming out the way we did with that hot start, going right down the field, it felt good. It felt good.”

The Eagles and their fans were waiting for that. Naturally, they roared their approval, during the warmups, during introductions. But what they needed even more was Wentz to do what he did later, long after the newness and the noise of it all was already gone. Contact Jack McCaffery @jmccaffery@21stcenturymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @ JackMcCaffery