Winners and losers from the Eagles’ win over the Steelers

The Eagles beat the hell out of the Steelers on Sunday. These are the folks who looked good, and the folks who did not look so good.

WINNERS

Carson Wentz

He just wins.

It doesn’t feel like an exaggeration to say Wentz is the most widely-loved man in Philadelphia right now. He can do no wrong. The rookie learned to run out of bounds and protect himself, he makes all the throws, and he’s got the Eagles playing playoff-level football right now.

One of the most impressive plays from Wentz today was a drop. His throw to Dorial Green-Beckham in the third quarter in the end zone was an absolute dime, right in the hands. DGB dropped it, but it didn’t matter. It was emblematic of everything good about Wentz. Aggressive when it makes sense to be aggressive, and accurate as ever.

His pass to Darren Sproles, of course, was even better. It showcased his mobility, and how incredibly accurate he is while on the run. It’s fitting the pass came against the Steelers, because it was the kind of throw I’ve seen Ben Roethlisberger throw hundreds of times. When your quarterback can throw right in stride while moving, you’re in business. Especially when he’s a running threat.

Oh — and he still hasn’t thrown an interception.

Howie Roseman

Good lord, does Roseman look great for trading everything he did to acquire Wentz. He put himself on the line with that move; it was bound to be a career-definer. He just assumed he would receive a grade on the move in two or three years.

After three weeks, the league has responded, and it’s overwhelming: Wentz is the real deal, and everything was worth it. They could have included more. Roseman probably could’ve included every cheesesteak in the city, and Eagles fans would still be trumpeting his grand genius right now.

Before the Sam Bradford trade — another stroke of genius that is looking more and more brilliant with each passing second, because it freed up Wentz to do what he’s doing — the Eagles seemed poised to go 8-8, a middling record with a middling quarterback. Now they’re doing things no one could have expected.

Bennie Logan + Fletcher Cox

The Eagles locked up Fletcher this offseason, and they are definitely bringing Bennie back. They won’t have a choice. Fans will demand it.

Logan opened the game with a blocked field goal, getting pretty impressive lift for a guy his size. As the game wore on, the Eagles’ defensive line broke through the Steelers’ talented offensive line, thanks in large part to Logan and Fletcher Cox simply being too much to handle.

And Cox? Oh, was he ever present. He sacked Ben Roethlisberger twice. He forced a fumble on one of those sacks, turning the ball back over to an offense that just couldn’t be stopped.

The Steelers’ offense came in as the sixth-strongest rushing team in the league, and DeAngelo Williams had the most yards of any running back. In the first half Sunday, before the Steelers turned into a pass-only offense, Williams had 15 yards on seven carries. The rush defense was absolutely lethal, and in the second half the pass rush was as well.

LOSERS

People who think Carson Wentz is overrated

Wentz did nothing but spit in the face of his detractors on Sunday. He made every throw in the book, and he did it against a team many think rank among the best in the league.

A few Steelers fans got up in my Twitter mentions and yelled about how Wentz was overrated.

Meanwhile, Wentz threw the ball 31 times for 301 yards and two touchdowns, absolutely eviscerating the Steelers and wow-ing everyone watching the game with a level head.

They’ll keep hating hard, I suppose, but at this point it just seems futile.

The Rams and the Browns

Can you imagine being one of the people who convinced the Browns to trade out of the No. 2 pick because Carson Wentz wasn’t going to pan out? Alright. Now, imagine you’re that person, and you’re watching Wentz roll out and throw that incredible touchdown to Darren Sproles in the third quarter.

That has to be one of the most crippling, frustrating feelings in all of sports. The Browns feel that way, as do the Rams, who decided Jared Goff was the right guy to draft instead of Wentz.

Because, to recap: one of the first two picks is 3-0, has thrown five touchdowns to zero interceptions, and is 3-0. The other has yet to see a snap.

Meanwhile, the Browns are starting Cody Kessler because they didn’t need to invest a first-round pick in a quarterback of the future.

What a world we live in.