The Philadelphia Eagles (0-2-1) will go winless in September, this after tying the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-23, at home on Sunday.
Carson Wentz had another subpar game, finishing 29-of-47 for 225 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, three sacks, and a fumble (recovered). Wentz, the second overall pick in 2017, has looked off all season.
Why?
“He looks like he’s really having some issues right now mentally,” former NFL player and current podcast host Ross Tucker said on The DA Show. “The first couple games, I thought he was pressing, and I thought he was trying to do too much. Then this last game, it almost seemed like he was a little gun-shy.”
Wentz, to be fair, had his moments. In fact, he led an 11-play, 75-yard drive at the end of regulation, diving headfirst for a touchdown to force overtime.
“He is trying so hard,” Tucker said. “He ran for over 60 yards, he’s trucking guys – at the end of regulation, he’s diving with 20 seconds left for the game-tying touchdown. He’s giving it everything he can. You can’t question his heart, his guts, all those things. He’s just not playing well enough.”
Wentz has thrown a league-high six interceptions through three games. He threw just seven in each of the last three seasons.
Does his poor play have anything to do with the Eagles spending a second-round pick on Jalen Hurts?
“I don’t know that, but I think that that is absolutely where people are going to take this thing,” Tucker said. “He’s played four years – this is his fifth year – and even as a rookie he played pretty well. In 2017, he could have been the MVP of the league; 2018, he was playing pretty well until he got hurt; last year, he finished so strong with all those practice-squad guys, winning all those games to win the division and make the playoffs yet again.
“I think it’s probably reasonable for people to wonder if having Jalen Hurts get drafted that high has had an impact on his psyche,” Tucker continued. “But then again, he’s a dad [now]. I don’t like to try to psychoanalyze guys. I don’t know what the reason is, but he’s never thrown picks like this. That’s never been his issue."
The Eagles play the 49ers (2-1) on the road this Sunday. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. ET.