Should Eagles Drop Carson Wentz? NFL Twitter Wants Philadelphia to Give Jalen Hurts a Shot at QB

Carson Wentz’s difficult season continued on Monday night, as the Philadelphia Eagles lost 23-17 at home against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Eagles have now lost three straight games and fallen to 3-7-1, trailing both the New York Giants and the Washington Football Team in the NFC East. Wentz completed 25 of his 45 passes for 215 passing yards, two touchdowns—one of which was a Hail Mary in garbage time—and one interception.

The 27-year-old’s regression has been one of the main themes of the Eagles’ season so far, along with Philadelphia’s inability to protect its quarterback. Both issues were again abundantly evident on Monday night, as Wentz failed to inject any life into the Eagles’ moribund offense.

The former North Dakota State star completed just two his first eight passes for a paltry four yards as each of Philadelphia’s first five possessions resulted in a three-and-out. The Eagles didn’t get a first down until he scampered for 20 yards with less than five minutes left in the opening quarter.

Wentz’s fourth-quarter interception brought his tally for the season to 15, the most in the NFL and the highest amount of picks he has thrown since entering the league in 2016, when the Eagles selected him with the second overall pick. Wentz had thrown seven picks in each of the last three seasons.

No quarterback in the NFL has been sacked as much as Wentz this season, who has been put on the ground 46 times, compared with a previous career-high of 37.

While Eagles coach Doug Pederson has repeatedly defended his quarterback, Wentz has been an issue for Philadelphia all season.

He is averaging career lows in several key metrics, including completion percentage, adjusted yards gained per pass attempt and quarterback rating.

The Eagles have the fifth-worst and sixth-worst offense in the NFL in total yards and passing yards respectively and rank in the bottom 10 in points per game.

While Wentz eventually found some rhythm later in the game, he ultimately failed to quieten the growing chorus calling for him to be benched in favor of Jalen Hurts, the former Oklahoma quarterback whom the Eagles selected in the second round of the NFL Draft in April.

More than a few eyebrows were raised when the Eagles opted to draft a quarterback instead of bolstering their receiving corps and the decision hasn’t aged well.

Philadelphia has been crying out for some offensive weapons downfield, while Hurts has spent most of the season on the bench. The Eagles have used the rookie mostly as a wildcat quarterback and Hurst hadn’t taken more than seven offensive snaps in a single game through the first 10 weeks of the season.

The trend continued on Monday night, when Hurts took just two snaps.

Hurts made a brief appearance early in the second half, drawing a false start penalty on his first snap before completing a six-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery. Surprisingly, however, the rookie quarterback then made his way back to the bench with Wentz coming back into the game, only to get sacked, forcing the Eagles to punt.

The decision prompted many to question Pederson’s handling of his rookie quarterback.

Despite another insipid performance, the Eagles head coach stood by Wentz after the game, refusing to single out his quarterback.

“Offensively, we’ve battled with a lot of injury. A lot of different moving parts up front with the offensive line, guys in and out,” he said.

“We haven’t had the consistency and continuity that you would like week in and week out. We just haven’t had that this season. We don’t make excuses for it, it’s where we are and we have to get better.”

The Eagles face an uphill battle to reach the playoffs, as they have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule in the league.

Aside from NFC East matchups against the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Football Team, they still face trips to Green Bay and Arizona, as well as home games against the Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints.

Wentz will have to be much better over the next five weeks if Philadelphia is to defend its divisional title.

Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after throwing an incomplete pass during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lincoln Financial Field on November 30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mitchell Leff/Getty