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If you’re one to make the argument that Carson Wentz is playing better than his stats indicate, you’re not alone. NFL features writer Tyler Dunne shared some interesting insight on Thursday morning:
NFC East might be a joke right now but people around the league are taking notice of Carson Wentz. One longtime personnel exec believes Wentz played better than any QB last weekend and that under constant pressure all game vs Baltimore he was his fearless, daring, '17 self again.
— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) October 22, 2020
Now, I’ve gotta say the idea that Wentz “played better than any quarterback last weekend” seems a tad hyperbolic. This is a player who completed 52.5% of his passes for 5.3 yards per attempt and a 84.7 passer rating in a loss. I do agree he played better than those numbers would have you believe. Best in the league, though? C’mon.
But it’s definitely fair to feel encouraged by how Wentz has played recently. His fight to lead the Eagles back from a big deficit and almost tie the game late in the fourth quarter was admirable. Wentz persevered through taking a lot of shots behind shoddy pass protection and a number of his fellow starters getting hurt.
At the very least, Wentz is certainly looking better than he did very early on this year. That much is reflected in his weekly Pro Football Focus grades:
33rd quarterback in Week 1
31st in Week 2
28th in Week 3
16th in Week 4
5th in Week 5
15th in Week 6
Of course, he still has room to improve. Not good to see him leading the league by far in this category:
Most turnover worthy plays this season:
— PFF (@PFF) October 21, 2020
Carson Wentz - 17
Ryan Fitzpatrick - 11
Baker Mayfield - 10 pic.twitter.com/ppqx8gJi6z
Wentz is playing well enough where there’s reasonable confidence the Eagles should be favored to win the truly terrible NFC East. He can continue to prove he’s on the right track by leading the Birds to a win tonight against the New York Giants.