It’s been a long time coming for the Philadelphia Eagles. At 3-8-1 on the season, Doug Pederson’s squad is in a free-fall. The decision to bench Carson Wentz had to be coming.
After seeing Wentz pulled for rookie second-round pick Jalen Hurts during the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, they have now made this move official.
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Philadelphia Eagles make right decision to bench Carson Wentz
Wentz, 27, has been a complete disaster for the Eagles thus far this season. Sure the team has struggled with injuries and coaching (more on that later). But the quarterback deserves a ton of the blame.
That’s been taken to a whole new level in recent weeks with Philadelphia falling out of first place in the disastrous NFC East.
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Carson Wentz stats proves Eagles decision to bench him made sense
Just look at what Wentz has done over the course of the past five games. These numbers tell us a story that includes him being a bottom-five starting quarterback in the NFL. That’s not hyperbole.
- VS- Dallas (W 23-9): 15-of-27 passing, 123 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, two lost fumbles
- AT-New York (L 17-27): 21-of-37 passing, 208 yards, zero touchdowns, zero interceptions,
- AT- Cleveland (L 17-22): 21-of-35 passing, 235 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions
- VS- Seattle (L 17-23): 25-of-45 passing, 215 yards, two touchdowns, one interception
- AT- Green Bay (L 16-20): 6-of-15 passing, 79 yards, zero touchdowns, zero interceptions
This five-game span has seen Philadelphia lose four outings while falling out of first place. The team has failed to score more than 17 points during its current four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Wentz has accounted for six touchdowns and seven giveaways. That’s about as bad as it gets.
Thus far this season, Carson Wentz has thrown a league-leading 15 interceptions while fumbling the ball 10 times. That’s not the definition of giving your team a chance to win close games.
This has also been a major issue for Philadelphia on the season. Winning close games. The team is 2-4-1 in one-score games. Those seven outings have seen Carson Wentz combine for 10 touchdowns compared to 10 giveaways.
Carson Wentz contract shouldn’t have played a role in Eagles’ decision
The backdrop here is obviously the four-year, $128 million extension Wentz signed with Philadelphia back in June of 2019.
If the Eagles were to release or trade Wentz here soon, they’d be taking on a major dead cap hit. That includes a whopping $59.22 million following the 2020 season.
This has led some to believe that the Eagles would stick with Carson Wentz out of necessity. General manager Howie Roseman and head coach Doug Pederson are firmly on the hot seat. Both share in some of the blame as it relates to Wentz’s regression this season. Both are on the hook when it comes to said contract.
Even then, we’re talking about a win-now league. After selecting Jalen Hurts in the second-round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Eagles were preparing for that.
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It might have been more about the Carson Wentz and his injury woes, but it was darn clear that Philadelphia’s brass had its reservations about Wentz.
Now at 3-8-1 on the season and two games behind both Washington and New York in the NFC East, these Eagles are in win-now mode. They must come out on top in this disastrous division in order for Roseman and Pederson to save their jobs.
Hurts provides them with a better opportunity than Carson Wentz. It’s that simple. And it’s what makes the decision to bench their starting quarterback for Week 14’s game against the New Orleans Saints that much easier.
It’s that simple.
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