Early season struggles for Wentz, Eagles

The former Bison quarterback will try to get back on track Thursday verus the Giants

Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles have had a disappointing start to the season. It seems it could be said every year about them, but the Eagles have been hit hard with injuries. Particularly on the offensive side of the ball, leading to some of Wentz’s struggles.

Through six games, Wentz has thrown for 1,401 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has also completed only 58.7% of his passes and a 48.2 quarterback rating. He has also been sacked 25 times already, as the Eagles lead the league in sacks allowed at 4.2 sacks a game.

Wentz has seen himself catch a lot of blame for the Eagles’ struggles, and that’s what comes with the price of playing quarterback in the NFL. However, the Eagles are missing multiple starters on their offensive line. They are also missing key weapons as rookie wide receiver Jalen Reagor, Miles Sanders, Desean Jackson and Dallas Goedert have all missed games. Meanwhile, Alshon Jeffery has yet to make his 2020 season debut.

The good news for the Eagles is that the young wide receivers have started to step up and take advantage of the opportunity. Players such as Travis Fulgham, John Hightower and Greg Ward have started improving to the point where Wentz is starting to trust them. This will be needed for them going forward, as the Eagles can’t count on Jeffery and Jackson staying healthy.

“Knowing that we have young guys that do have speed and have the ability to stretch the defense really helps everybody else,” Wentz said. “It helps the guys underneath, the tight ends and the backs, Greg Ward in the slot, all those things, all those factors can contribute to us having success. We just have to be smart on how we choose those battles and take what the defense gives us.”

Wentz has reiterated how important it is to have guys with speed on the field. It opens up a Philly offense that has struggled for most of the year. However, the Eagles may have found something in their week five loss against Baltimore that they can build off of. They scored all of their 28 points in the second half, including 22 in the fourth quarter.

“The ability to stretch the field and create big plays is a gamechanger,” Wentz said. “It makes it hard on defenses, especially (because) some of those are on third down, third and longs and we’re able to convert and stay on the field and… just stay on the field and pick up chunk plays and I think that puts a lot of stress on the defense.”

Even though the Eagles are sitting with a disappointing 1-4-1 record, they are sitting in second place in the dreadful NFC East, just a single game behind the Dallas Cowboys. Philly has had a bad start to the season, yet you could argue that the division is theirs for the taking. Especially after the brutal injury to Dak Prescott.

Wentz and the Eagles will look to right the ship on Thursday night when they take on the New York Giants. While it sounds like Miles Sanders and Zach Ertz won’t be able to play, Desean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery are on track to take the field.

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