Eagles coach Doug Pederson’s decision to punt in overtime against the Cincinnati Bengals and play for a tie -- as opposed to going for it on fourth down -- might have had to do with what he had seen from his offense during regulation.
Pederson watched from the sideline on Sunday as his quarterback, Carson Wentz, continued to make mistake after mistake and poor throw after poor throw. Instead of pushing his luck with a fourth-and-12 play, Pederson decided to punt the ball, pass on his offense and take the indecisive final score as it stood.
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While the judgment call has been second-guessed over the past 48 hours, including by Pederson himself, the decision not to go for it seemingly showed a lack of confidence in the offense, specifically Wentz. After three weeks of disturbing and disjointed play, it’s hard not to lose confidence in Wentz, who has become interception-prone and increasingly inaccurate this season.
In our Week 3 film breakdown, NJ Advance Media takes a deep dive into the good, bad and the ugly (but in reserve order) from Wentz’s performance against the Cincinnati Bengals:
Double your dismay, double your doom
Wentz has thrown just seven interceptions in each of the past three seasons. Just three games into this campaign, the quarterback has already thrown six picks. Against the Bengals' putrid defense, he was intercepted twice for the third consecutive week.
(NFL Game Pass)
The first interception was a poor judgment throw by Wentz.
He has 12 personnel with tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert running crossing routes underneath (check out the subtle low-five). Wide receiver DeSean Jackson runs roughly 10 yards up the field and stops on his route to come back to the quarterback. While Jackson looks like he has some cushion in space, there are actually three defenders surrounding the wide receiver. Wentz doesn’t see the linebacker, Logan Wilson, to Jackson’s right and fires the ball to the wide receiver. Nose tackle D.J. Reader is pushing right guard Matt Pryor into Wentz and the lineman gets his hand up and bats the ball in the air. Wilson only needs to make a slight adjustment for the interception. Even if the ball wasn’t deflected, the pass would have still likely been picked off or broken up by one of the three defenders framing Jackson.
Wentz has made these decisions before. Just last week, Wentz targeted J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in double coverage on a post route. He didn’t appear to have anyone else particularly open here on third down but he didn’t need to force it to Jackson at midfield. Had the turnover not occurred, punter Cam Johnston could have tried to pin the Bengals deep in their own territory. That said, this turnover didn’t lead to points.
(NFL Game Pass)
This is a poor-throw pick for Wentz. Initially, it looked like a poor decision, but this 50-50 ball was there for the taking if Wentz put it in the right spot for Ertz. The tight end is matched up against cornerback LeShaun Sims and has a five-inch height advantage. The back-shoulder fade to the sideline is completely doable here. However, Wentz essentially throws it to the cornerback’s body inside, as opposed to hanging it to Ertz, who could have shielded the ball with his size. Throwing the ball to the inside of the battle was never going to work out well for the offense.
Wentz has had placement issues in the two past games, especially to the sideline. He had two interceptions to the sideline in Week 1. That said, both were thrown to the left sideline, while this was to the right.
The concern with these two interceptions is that Wentz is making a combination of bad decisions and bad throws. If it were simply bad decisions, the Eagles could probably coach that out of him. If it were just poor throws, the Eagles would just need to improve Wentz’s reps in practice or move away from certain plays. With both, the solution is a lot more trouble than just sorting out one issue.
Inaccuracy Strikes Back!
The inaccuracy issues aren’t new, but they seem to be progressively getting worse for Wentz. While not every throw is a “layup," it’s clear Wentz’s inaccuracy is keeping the Eagles from picking up huge chunks of yardage in the passing game.
(NFL Game Pass)
This play is probably maddening for Pederson as a play-caller. Wentz throws behind Jackson on a simple screen pass. Due to the ball’s trajectory, Jackson has to spin around and move up the sideline, instead of going directly down the field, between Greg Ward’s block and the pocket. Jackson had a TON of free space in that opening, as the Bengals were playing man coverage. Ward made a nice block, but Jackson’s catch point was off the mark and made him improvise into just a two-yard gain. This play would have probably gone for a first down and more had the ball been placed in front of Jackson.
(NFL Game Pass)
This play would have broken the game open.
Sanders breaks free from a linebacker after a nifty double move on the sideline. The Eagles are attacking out of an empty backfield, and Sanders simply beats his man one-on-one by at least three steps. Wentz sees Sanders streaking down the field but overthrows him by at least three yards. Sanders was speeding down the field and could have scored on this play (easily!) if he was hit in stride. The score would have set the Eagles up to control the clock for the remainder of the game with a built-in lead. Instead, the Eagles were forced to punt, which then led to points for the Bengals on the way back.
But there were some highlights
Wentz wasn’t all bad on Sunday. He had pair of really nifty runs, including a career-high-tying 24-yard run in the second quarter.
(NFL Game Pass)
Wentz looked very mobile on Sunday.
He had that aforementioned 24-yard scurry up the field that fans have been itching for on a weekly basis. He also had this gutsy run for a touchdown that looked eerily like the play that tore up his knee in 2017 against the Rams. Anyway, his ability to make pass rushers miss in the pocket is commendable, especially with the game on the line. No one seems to be open, but Wentz remains patient and poised as he searches for an opening to run for a touchdown. He launches himself forward as defenders close in and he makes the game-tying touchdown happen. The score sends the Eagles to overtime and there’s now hope for the Eagles.
(NFL Game Pass)
Wentz is looking to lead the Eagles to a win in overtime. During his quest, with the clock winding down, Wentz connects with Ertz on maybe the best throw of the season thus far. Wentz tosses a beautifully-placed floater right on the money to Ertz for a 30-yard gain. The play sets up the Eagles in scoring territory. While a pair of plenties will negate the impact of this major play, it’s important to remember that Wentz is still showing some signs of his old playmaking self. This throw was absolute perfection, which seemingly gives Wentz supporters hope for the rest of the campaign.
Conclusion
While he wasn’t an utter disaster against the Bengals, Wentz simply wasn’t good enough to thrive or even look vaguely competent against a lousy defense. Wentz showed some signs of growth as a runner and a decision-maker (at times), but he was still hindered by his inaccuracy and lack of chemistry within the offense.
(NFL Game Pass)
The play above shows a few positives. Wentz is able to elude a pass rusher, despite Jason Peters' failure to protect him, and he still keeps his eyes down the field. Once he realizes the play is compromised, he throws the ball away. That sequence is at least a somewhat positive takeaway from the game against the Bengals.
While his stat line looks bleak three weeks into the season, perhaps Wentz is realizing he can’t play “hero ball” with his arm anymore. If he relies on his legs and his coaching, perhaps he can turn his worrisome season around. If he continues to take unnecessary risks and make bone-headed plays, fans and media will start calling for second-round pick Jalen Hurts to get his turn.
Pederson said he won’t bench Wentz or even think about it anytime soon, but if the quarterback can’t progress over the next few weeks -- against good teams -- some really important decisions will need to be made in the near future.
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