The Eagles need Wentz to be great — now
Unremarkable showing by veteran quarterback against the Cowboys
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — It would be easy to pin Sunday night’s ugly 37-10 Philadelphia Eagles loss strictly on Jim Schwartz’s inept defence.
After all, the Eagles gave up scores on five of the Dallas Cowboys’ first six possessions, got run over by Ezekiel Elliott, couldn’t cover Amari Cooper, missed a ton of tackles and failed yet again to muster much of a pass rush as Dak Prescott completed all but six of his 27 passes.
But the offence — particularly the struggling passing game — was every bit as culpable.
It was Carson Wentz & Co. who had the two killer firstquarter fumbles that giftwrapped the Cowboys’ 14-0 lead just six minutes into the game.
It was Wentz & Co. who turned the ball over four times in all and managed to score just one touchdown.
It was Wentz & Co. who converted just three of nine thirddown opportunities and had a season-low 16 first downs.
Tight end Zach Ertz, whose 116 receptions last season were the most ever by a National Football League tight end, can’t seem to get open lately. He didn’t have a catch in the first three quarters against the Cowboys and was targeted once.
Right tackle Lane Johnson, one of the few people on earth who has had Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence’s number, misplaced it Sunday as Lawrence won this battle of AllPros.
Except for a 28-yard touchdown throw to tight end Dallas Goedert in the first quarter, Wentz had another unremarkable performance, completing just 16 of 26 passes.
For the third time in four games, he failed to throw for 200 yards.
“I’ve got to be better,” Wentz said after the game.
“What was it, three turnovers (that I had)? That can’t happen.
I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to protect the ball. And I’ve got to be better leading this team, that’s for sure.”
He’s absolutely right. He needs to be better. This was going to be the year that Wentz, armed with a $128-million contract and a Tom Brady-like training regimen and nutrition approach, put it all together and made people forget about Nick Foles for more than a couple of minutes.
But Sunday’s game was kind of like his season. Or at least his season since he lost DeSean Jackson. Some really good plays — such as the throw to Goedert — sprinkled on top of a bowlful of mistakes and nearmisses.
He had three of the offense’s four turnovers Sunday, including two lost fumbles. Lawrence got around Johnson on a second-and-four on the Eagles’ second possession and knocked the ball out of the quarterback’s hands, giving the Cowboys a first down at the Philadelphia 14-yard line. They scored two plays later.
In the second quarter, Wentz failed to spot a nicely timed corner blitz by Jourdan Lewis on a third-and-seven play after the Cowboys had taken a 21-7 lead. Lewis came in untouched and sacked him for an eight-yard loss, and the drive died.
In the third quarter, on one of the Eagles’ two red-zone opportunities, Wentz overthrew Alshon Jeffery in the end zone. It was a tough throw, but it’s one that top quarterbacks make. He didn’t even give Jeffery a chance.
“They have a good pass rush,” Wentz said. “We got down early and made it tough on ourselves. There’s things I can do better. I’ve got to have better pocket presence and help those guys out as well. But at the end of the day, we’ve just got to all be better.”
In the Eagles’ season-opening win over a Washington team that has lost six of its first seven games and given up 30-plus points in four of those defeats, Wentz looked like the MVP candidate everybody had projected him to be this summer. He completed 28 of 39 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns, including two scoring bombs to Jackson.
But in the first quarter of the next game, the 32-year-old Jackson broke down, suffering a muscle injury that’s kept him on the shelf since. Without Jackson, Wentz has an 87.4 passer rating that includes a 59.2 per cent completion rate and 6.6 yards per attempt. If losing one near-the-end-of-hiscareer wideout can have that kind of negative impact on a team’s passing game, well then that passing game was a house of cards.