In 2020 the Eagles had a choice: stick with a flailing and floundering Carson Wentz, or bench him for then-rookie Jalen Hurts and find out what you have?
Fast forward less than 24 months and the two QBs' career paths are on polar opposite trajectories: Hurts is piloting the undefeated Eagles as an early-season MVP candidate, while Wentz is on his third team in three years and things are going... poorly.
That's right: just five weeks into the Wentz experiment down in Washington D.C., the ex-Eagles QB is already under fire as the Commanders limp into Week 5 at a rough 1-4.
Here's a quick flyover of Washington sports media as the Commanders sit firmly at the bottom of a very competitive NFC East:
Olivia Garvey, a sports reporter and news anchor for ABC7 in DC, is wondering aloud if it's time to put Taylor Heinicke back in as QB1:
Sports radio station 106.7 The Fan ran a poll asking Commanders fans if a Week 5 stinker against the Titans would be enough to bench Wentz:
And Hogs Haven, a popular and long-running Washington football blog, is outright saying it's time for a change at QB:
"We will not be getting back the 2022 third rounder, or the equivalent of the 2022 fourth rounder, or the $28M+ we paid for Carson this year. We should now focus on minimizing losses, and planning for the future.
NFL
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"I’d give Taylor 3-4 games to show what he has with a legitimate surrounding cast. If he flounders, which he may well do, I’d give Howell the rest of the season to show whether or not he can be the future in Washington."
Five games and in the peanut gallery has almost fully turned on you? YEESH.
Here's a quick look at Wentz's stat line so far this season:
- 62.2% completion
- 8 TD
- 5 INT
- 6.0 Y/A
- 17 sacks
- 3 fumbles
The completion percentage would be the third-worst of his career. The yards per attempt would be tied for the worst of his career. He's on pace for 34 combined turnovers.
And he's doing all of this with a pretty robust supporting cast featuring Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, and Antonio Gibson.
I've seen a number of Washington fans and reporters trying to prop Wentz up, ever so slightly, with the tried-and-true offensive line complaints. What's he supposed to do with this paltry O-line, they ask.
Sound familiar, Eagles fans?
That was a classic crutch of Wentz supporters in this town for years, but it was largely baseless. The Eagles have had one of the best offensive lines in football for the past decade, and even when they struggled with injuries they have a first-rate position coach in Jeff Stoutland and have had solid-to-good backup play along the line for years.
It's the quarterback. He holds on to the ball for eons, he has zero pocket awareness, and he's under the illusion that he's still the 25-year-old version of himself when he's turning 30 in two months.
Sorry, Commanders fans, but your quarterback stinks. I hope for your mental health that the team realizes this sooner rather than later and gives Sam Howell a shot so you can figure out what to do come April.
Meanwhile, Eagles fans are probably going to enjoy this a little while longer.