Carson Wentz talks challenges in facing the Dallas defense

Coming off two consecutive wins, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz spoke to reporters on Thursday about how the offense has finally found their rhythm and what his and the team’s focus is on heading into a must-win game over Dallas.

Here’s what the QB had to say:

On the win over Washington

He opened by saying that he and Golden Tate are on the same, and have been since the receiver came to Philly, but like anything the more reps you get the better it becomes. Wentz also noted that they connected more against Washington in part because of what the defense was giving them, but more reps and more time on the field together can only be a good thing.

The quarterback went on to say that he felt like the offense was finally playing together on Monday night against Washington. Specifically he pointed to them finally being able to execute in all the areas they’ve stressed, like the run game and play action, along with starting fast. Wentz said those are things he’s talked about throughout the season and it was good to see them finally clicking.

Wentz also said that Monday night’s offense was close to what he had wanted and expected for this year, but also admitted that they had left some plays on the field, so there’s still work to be done. But, overall, he noted there were a lot of positive signs and seems like they are trending in the right direction.

He was asked about their tendency to throw on first down against Washington, and Wentz said that was in part due to the run game being effective and helped keep things off balance with play action passes.

On preparing for Dallas

The QB was asked what he’s gleaned from watching the game against Dallas earlier in the season, and he said that they played a good second half but came up short, and also got off to a slow start — which he said was also something they dealt with when they played the Cowboys in 2017.

Wentz went on to say that they really just need to be able to put four full quarters together, and when you know each other as well as these two teams and have faced off against them so recently, there’s not a lot of fancy things they can do. He quipped that it’s just going to come down to guys making plays and executing better than Dallas.

He was also asked about how he prepares to face a team so soon after they last played, and he said that you always at least refer to your notes from the previous matchup, but that’s for any team. Wentz pointed out that it’s not as if their defensive structure has changed in the past few weeks, and that they don’t do a whole lot of complex things, but rather do a few things really well.

Wentz also said he’s got a lot of respect for Dallas’ defense, but it’s just going to come down to the Eagles offense making more plays than their opponent.

When asked what he saw from the Cowboys against the Saints in their stunning win, Wentz said Dallas did just about everything well in that game. He said that they were flying around and their pursuit is something that really sticks out on film, and continued to say that when an offensive player is out in the open, the entire Dallas defense seems to rally to the ball.

Wentz was also asked about Dallas’ ability to defend against the screen, but the quarterback said that they used their screens effectively against Washington and think there’s definitely room for success against the Cowboys too.

On Kamu’s trash talk

Wentz snickered when asked about Kamu Grugier-Hill talking some smack about the Cowboys, but the quarterback was not interested in getting involved in that conversation. He did go on to say that for him personally (and as a team), he’s got a lot of respect for that team and what they’re doing this year.