Carson Wentz was once considered a top-five quarterback in the NFL, a rising star amongst the league's signal-callers set to take over the league for the next decade. That was just three years ago, when Wentz was the front-runner for the league's MVP award before tearing his ACL with three games left in the regular season. That injury came with the Philadelphia Eagles leading the NFC standings -- and eventually going on to win the Super Bowl that season. Wentz has led the Eagles to the playoffs since, but injuries have taken a toll on his career. The Eagles quarterback ranked in the top five in touchdown percentage and fewest interceptions thrown per pass attempt while compiling a passer rating of 98.3 from 2017 to 2019 (sixth in the NFL).
This season, Wentz has become one of the worst quarterbacks in the game -- and it's getting even harder for his biggest supporters to defend his poor play. Wentz turns the ball over more than any quarterback in the league and has made plenty of questionable decisions as the Eagles are 3-5-1, which is still "good" enough sit in first place in a pathetic NFC East. Not only is Wentz's future in Philadelphia in question, but his cap numbers are scheduled to total an estimated $132.3 million over the next four seasons.
This isn't an evaluation of Doug Pederson's play-calling or refusal to run the ball. This also isn't an assessment of the failures of Howie Roseman and the Eagles front office over the past few seasons. This is a statistical breakdown of how poor Wentz has played through the Eagles' first nine games this season, a major reason why Philadelphia sits at 3-5-1.
In this week's "By The Numbers," we're taking a deeper dive into Wentz's regression into of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL in 2020, along with some Eagles team statistics that have aided in his poor play.
Worst completion percentage
- Drew Lock -- 55%
- Carson Wentz -- 58.2%
- Sam Darnold -- 58.6%
- Dwayne Haskins -- 61%
- Baker Mayfield -- 61.3%
Most interceptions
- Carson Wentz -- 12
- Kirk Cousins -- 11
- Russell Wilson --10
- Drew Lock -- 10
- Daniel Jones -- 9
Highest interception percentage
- Kirk Cousins -- 4.5%
- Drew Lock -- 4.2%
- Ryan Fitzpatrick -- 3.6%
- Jimmy Garoppolo -- 3.6%
- Carson Wentz -- 3.5%
Lowest yards per attempt
- Sam Darnold -- 5.5
- Nick Foles -- 6.0
- Carson Wentz -- 6.1
- Drew Lock -- 6.3
- Dwayne Haskins -- 6.4
Lowest QB rating
- Sam Darnold -- 65.9
- Drew Lock -- 66.5
- Carson Wentz -- 73.1
- Daniel Jones -- 78.2
- Dwayne Haskins -- 80.3
Adding even more insult to how poor Wentz has played, his 12 touchdown passes are tied for 21st in the NFL. The quarterbacks that have started the whole season and are behind Wentz are Philip Rivers and Daniel Jones, with Drew Lock, Jimmy Garoppolo, Sam Darnold and Cam Newton all missing time. Wentz also has the eighth-fewest yards per completion (10.5) in the NFL and is in the bottom 10 in pass yards per game (232.3). The Eagles quarterback is tied for the most fourth-quarter comebacks in the NFL with three, and his two game-winning drives rank in the top 10.
Wentz ranks in the bottom five in five passing statistical categories and in the bottom 10 in seven of them. The Eagles quarterback has 12 interceptions and nine fumbles on the season, which leads the league in both categories. Fumbles have been the biggest flaw in Wentz's game since his rookie season, as his 57 fumbles are the most in the NFL -- 13 more than Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. That has been the only part of Wentz's game in previous years that has remained consistent.
While Wentz shoulders some of the blame for the Eagles' downfall in 2020, this disaster is far from laying solely at his feet. The Eagles have not exactly put their quarterback in the best position to succeed based on the following disturbing team statistics
Fewest yards per play
- New York Jets -- 4.5
- Chicago Bears -- 4.7
- New York Giants -- 5.0
- Washington Football Team -- 5.0
- Philadelphia Eagles -- 5.0
Lowest fourth-down efficiency
- Denver Broncos -- 11.1%
- Jacksonville Jaguars -- 25%
- Philadelphia Eagles -- 29.4%
- San Francisco 49ers -- 30%
- New York Jets -- 30.8%
Lowest average time of possession
- New York Jets -- 26:49
- Houston Texans -- 26.55
- Tennessee Titans -- 27:52
- Denver Broncos -- 28:29
- Jacksonville Jaguars -- 28:36
- Philadelphia Eagles -- 28:45
Most sacks allowed
- Philadelphia Eagles -- 35
- Cincinnati Bengals -- 32
- New York Giants -- 31
- Seattle Seahawks -- 30
- Washington Football Team -- 30
Highest sack percentage per pass attempt
- Philadelphia Eagles -- 10.17%
- New York Giants -- 9.25%
- Baltimore Ravens -- 9.2%
- Seattle Seahawks -- 8.98%
- Washington Football Team -- 8.9%
Highest percentage of passing plays
- Chicago Bears -- 66.3%
- Jacksonville Jaguars -- 64.79%
- Philadelphia Eagles -- 63.7%
- Washington Football Team -- 63.06%
- Dallas Cowboys -- 62.96%
The Eagles are averaging just 5.47 passing yards per play -- second-to-last in the league -- yet have the third highest percentage of passing plays in the NFL. Philadelphia is averaging 5.12 rushing yards per play -- fourth- best in the league -- yet has the third lowest percentage of run plays in the league. This is a formula set up for their quarterback to fail and rank amongst the worst signal-callers in the NFL.
Philadelphia doesn't have the ball long enough for its offense to get into a rhythm and keep its defense off the field, another former staple of Doug Pederson in his successful years. The Eagles had an average time of possession of 32:56 in 2019, which was second in the NFL. The Eagles ranked in the top two in the NFL every season under Pederson -- including first in 2016 and 2017 -- until this season.
Wentz isn't protected by a rotating offensive line that has experienced changes everywhere but center this season. Injuries have devastated the Eagles up front, hurting the continuity of the offensive line to gel and protect the quarterback consistently. Wentz is also guilty of holding the ball too long and trying to make a play, which has led to errant throws and turnovers.
The Eagles offense is one of the worst in the NFL because of these factors, leading to the poor quarterback play as a result. Wentz has to perform at a much higher level for the Eagles to turn this around as the offensive struggles do ultimately bear his responsibility, but the franchise quarterback isn't getting much help from his coaching staff either.
The end game for Philadelphia? A franchise that may be willing to move on from its franchise quarterback, whether that's fair to Wentz or not.
