The Linc: Better to sit like Jared Goff or start like Carson Wentz?

Eagles news and notes for 12/3

McLane: Wentz and Goff: Better to sit or start? - Inquirer

Each week, Wentz does something spectacular that harks back to his torrid start. And even when he's had poor quarters or even halves, he has found a way to rebound. But the losses and turnovers have been piling up.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has experienced almost nothing but success in his first season. He has played behind an elite offensive line and gets to throw to Dez Bryant and hand off to Ezekiel Elliott. Wentz, meanwhile, may not have one player on offense who is rated above his Dallas counterpart.

"I know for sure I wouldn't trade what's happened for the world," Wentz said. "I'm very excited that I got that opportunity from Game 1. . . . Obviously, before the season we didn't know when would be my time. But I knew it was just a matter of time."

The way coach Doug Pederson has increasingly spoken, though, the Eagles never thought they had a roster that was playoff-caliber. So would it have been beneficial for Wentz to sit, maybe not the whole season as the Eagles coach originally planned, but for a stretch as Daniel held down the fort?

"The fact that he would have sat and watched, I think it's good," Pederson said. But, he added, "Looking back now, obviously this has been very valuable for him to get these reps and to lead this football team like he has. Just going to make not only himself but the team better down the road."

The Rams started Case Keenam for the first nine games. They opened 3-1, but lost their next four, and after an uninspiring 9-6 win over the New York Jets, coach Jeff Fisher finally promoted Goff.

Malcolm Jenkins: A Time for Action - Players Tribune

What now?

Like so many others, I’ve been asking myself that question a lot since the election.

As someone who has been working to bring people of different backgrounds and perspectives together for meaningful, substantive dialogue about how we can improve society, I found the rhetoric Donald Trump used during the campaign extremely disappointing. But, you know what? On election night, our president-elect came out and said that he was going to be a president “for all Americans.” And he’s repeated that statement several times since.

So now, more than ever, I feel strongly that we need to speak up about important issues that influence how our society functions.

If our next president is serious about being a servant to the people — all of the people — then the people need to be able to articulate what it is that they want. And for me, personally, the election of Donald Trump has really sparked the urgency in me to raise awareness about, and help mobilize people on, issues of race relations, police brutality and criminal justice reform. I mean, we all saw the kind of campaign that our president-elect ran, and a lot of what he talked about focused on ramping up law-and-order measures — including the expansion of stop and frisk policies, as well as other initiatives that disproportionately impact minority communities.

We can’t afford to just sit around and expect things to somehow get better on their own. This is a critical moment in time. And we need to be doing all we can to make sure leaders in our government are hearing and addressing our concerns about injustice within society.

Eagles-Bengals Game Predictions: Three and Out - Birds 24/7

BLG: Eagles 20, Bengals 16.

The Eagles are 1-5 on the road this year and they’re 2-6 in their last eight games. There’s ample reason not to feel good about the Birds’ chances, especially since they’re coming off a discouraging loss to the Packers on a short week.

But the Bengals don’t appear to be any better. They’ve only won three games this year. Their first victory was a one-point win over the 3-8 Jets. Their second win came over the Dolphins when Miami wasn’t playing well. The Bengals’ third victory was against the Browns, which is like being handed a free win. Cincinnati would have lost the game they tied if Washington didn’t miss a chip-shot field goal at the end.

In addition to the Bengals not really being any good, they’re missing some of their best players. A.J. Green is a superstar talent who had 66 receptions for 964 yards and four touchdowns before suffering an injury that might keep him out the rest of the year. Cincinnati running back Giovani Bernard ranks second in rushing and fourth in receiving. He’s out for the season as well. With these players, the Bengals have only scored an average of 13 points in their last two games.

The Eagles figure to be the more desperate team in this situation. Philadelphia’s playoff hopes aren’t officially over, but they’re very much on life support. The Eagles pretty much need to win out in order to make the post-season. They can keep their slim chances alive with a win this week. The feeling here is that this game won’t be pretty, but the Eagles will get the job done.

Domowitch’s Eagles-Bengals scouting report - Daily News

WHEN THE EAGLES RUN THE BALL

The Eagles, who had one of the league's highest run-play percentages in their first six games (45.4), have had to throw the ball far more than they've wanted in recent weeks. They have a 37.2 run-play percentage over the last five games. They had just 18 rushing attempts vs. the Packers. When they have to run, they've been pretty good. They're averaging 4.9 yards per carry over the last three games and 4.3 for the season. With Ryan Mathews sidelined with a knee injury and Darren Sproles playing with a fractured rib, rookie Wendell Smallwood will be the primary ballcarrier. He's averaging 4.4 yards per carry. In 66 carries, he has 14 first downs, eight runs of 10 yards or more and just three carries that have lost yards. The Bengals are 28th in run defense (120.5) and 26th in opponent rush average (4.4). Five of their last eight opponents have averaged 4.5 yards per carry or more.

EDGE: Eagles

WHEN THE EAGLES PASS THE BALL

The Eagles have gotten little production from their outside receivers, so slot receiver Jordan Matthews, tight end Zach Ertz and running back Darren Sproles have been Carson Wentz's go-to receivers. They've accounted for 53.8 percent of the Eagles' receptions, 51.6 percent of their receiving first downs and 69.1 percent of their third-down catches. The one guy who is starting to change that is Dorial Green-Beckham. DGB has been targeted 18 times in the last two games and has 11 catches for 136 yards. Nine of those 11 catches have been for first downs. After a red-hot start, Wentz has come back to earth. He had a 103.5 passer rating in his first four starts, throwing 7 TDs and just one INT. In his last seven starts, he has a 72.9 rating with four TDs and seven interceptions. The Bengals have been just OK vs. the pass and have just 21 sacks.

EDGE: Bengals

Eagles’ Treggs, Turner patiently waiting on production - CSN Philly

Bryce Treggs and Paul Turner had a great opportunity on Monday night to not only play against the Packers, but also play many snaps against a banged-up secondary.

They walked away with a combined one catch for 11 yards.

“There’s one football and we have tons of skill guys who are great players,” said Treggs, who caught the pass. “When I don’t get the ball, I’m not going to complain. I’m just going to run my route, because the one time that it does come to me, I need to make that play. I’m not going to press, I’m going to let the game come to me.”

Treggs played a career-high 44 snaps against the Packers and had one catch on three targets. Turner, in his NFL debut, played 24 snaps and didn’t even get targeted once.

“I just think the ball went where it went,” said Turner, who joined the 53-man roster from the practice squad last week. “For me, it wasn’t a big deal. For me, it was just an opportunity to go out there and play football. That’s what I wanted to do. I just think over time, things will come. My biggest thing is just going out there and doing what I can to help the team win and just taking care of my responsibility. If I focus on that, I just know everything will take care of itself.”