Carson Wentz is starting for the Commanders again

After temporarily losing his starting job to Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz is back as the Washington Commanders’ starting quarterback.

Heinicke originally took over for Wentz after the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback suffered a fractured ring finger in October. With a new quarterback at the helm, the Commanders went on a 5-1 stretch. It seemed like they were set to ride Heinicke for the rest of the year before going 0-2-1 in their last three games as they try to clinch a wild card spot in the NFC playoff picture.

Replacing Heinicke with Wentz hardly seems like a sure-fire fix considering Washington went 2-4 with him starting earlier this year. But there’s a big opportunity for Wentz to make it to his second-ever playoff start if he plays well down the stretch here.

With home wins over both the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys to close the season, the Commanders will definitely be in the postseason. And Washington might catch a Dallas team that is locked into their playoff seed and thus incentivized to rest starters in Week 18.

Though it’s usually not desirable to see a division rival make the playoffs (let alone all THREE rivals), the Eagles should actually be hoping that the Commanders make it. That’s certainly preferable to the Green Bay Packers sneaking in. Would you rather see Aaron Rodgers or Wentz come to Lincoln Financial Field in the divisional round?

Of course, it would be pretty crushing if the Eagles somehow lost to Wentz. But the Birds should feel pretty good about their chances against him.

If the Commanders are able to get in as the No. 7 seed and pull off an upset over the No. 2 seed (likely the Minnesota Vikings), they’ll be playing in Philly if the Eagles can officially lock up the No. 1 seed.