Washington quarterback Carson Wentz faced the team that drafted him No. 2 overall in 2016 for the first time Sunday as the Commanders hosted the Philadelphia Eagles.
Things couldn’t have gone any worse for Wentz. He completed 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards in a 24-8 loss. The biggest stat from Wentz’s first game against the Eagles was the sacks. He was sacked nine times and hit 17 times.
Wentz was sacked four times in the first quarter and six in the first half, leading the Eagles to gain a 24-0 advantage before halftime. The Commanders had -16 net passing yards in the first half.
It was a far different Wentz than the one who passed for 650 yards and seven touchdowns over the first two weeks. The Eagles were aggressive in attacking Wentz up the middle and on the edge, and the Commanders had little answer.
While the offensive line had a tough day, Wentz often held the ball too long, leading to easy sacks for the Eagles. There were some plays where Wentz could’ve climbed pocket or felt the pressure and released the ball sooner to avoid the negative plays.
Afterward, head coach Ron Rivera was asked about Wentz’s play.
“I think he could have played better. I mean that’s the truth.”
That’s a fair and true assessment. Some of the issues from Sunday are the same issues that followed Wentz from his previous two stops.
Rivera asked specifically if he thought the sacks were more on Wentz or the offensive line.
“Probably a combination,” he said. “Want to take a look at the tape, see what they were doing, you know, defensively, and just go from there.”
He’s right. Sometimes the offensive line gets too much blame, and this is a case where some will read “nine sacks” and completely blame the offensive line, which isn’t fair.
The Commanders better figure things out quickly as they head to JerryWorld next week to face Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys.