The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Wentz’s season over
PHILADELPHIA — Carson Wentz got the Eagles this far. Now, it’s up to Nick Foles to deliver Philadelphia its first Super Bowl title.
Wentz has a torn left ACL and will miss the rest of the season and playoffs, forcing the NFC East champions to turn to a familiar backup who once had one of the greatest statistical seasons in NFL history.
“The reason we got Nick Foles is for situations like this. I’m excited for Nick,” coach Doug Pederson said Monday. “I hate it for Carson Wentz. I hate it for the season that he’s been having. But at the same time, it’s been the next-man-up mentality and that’s how we approach it.”
Wentz was a favorite in the NFL MVP race during a breakout sophomore season. He threw for 3,296 yards and set a franchise single-season record with an NFL-leading 33 touchdown passes while only tossing seven interceptions.
“From my standpoint, you don’t waver, man. You don’t let people see you sweat,” Pederson said. “You just put your head down and you just go to work. You get everybody ready to play. It was evident when Carson was out of the game, you saw Nick come in and come back and lead us to victory in that game. So that right there is a great step in the right direction.”
Wentz got hurt diving into the end zone on a scramble late in the third quarter Sunday at Los Angeles. Pederson said it appeared Wentz tore his anterior cruciate ligament before contact with two tacklers. The touchdown was nullified by a penalty, but Wentz stayed in the game and tossed a TD pass to Alshon Jeffery four plays later.
Foles replaced him on the next series after the Rams took the lead and rallied the Eagles (11-2) to a 43-35 win that secured the division title and put them in first place in the conference with three games remaining.
The Eagles have overcome several key injuries and now have to move forward without their most indispensable player. Ninetime Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, return specialist/running back Darren Sproles, star linebacker Jordan Hicks and special teams captain Chris Maragos already went down for the season.
“This has been a resilient football team all season long,” Pederson said. “If there’s ever an opportunity for me as a head football coach to rally the troops, now might be the time.”