Philadelphia Eagles: Time to bench Carson Wentz yet?

Things have gone poorly for Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles offense.

He’s not a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and currently ranks as the third-lowest rated passer in the NFL behind Daniel Jones, and sits just ahead of Drew Lock and Sam Darnold. If you’re Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles that’s not exactly the company you’d like to keep.

While falling to the Cleveland Browns 22-17 on Sunday, Wentz continued his less-than-stellar passing trends this season by throwing two interceptions; one of which was a pick-six.

A glass-half-full analysis of the performance wouldn’t forget to include the fact that he went 21-of-35 passing during the contest, to go along with two touchdown passes despite getting little help from Philadelphia’s offensive line. Either way, this was an ugly performance.

Despite playing without NFL sack-leader Myles Garrett, the Browns tormented Wentz and his protection unit all game long to the tune of five quarterback sacks — one of which went for a safety in the end zone — while also dishing out 10 quarterback hits.

This is the second-consecutive loss for the Eagles, who dropped to 3-6-1 for the 2020 season and currently sit a half-game away from a four-way tie for last place in the NFC East. Shockingly, Philadelphia resides in first place of the NFL’s worst division and is actually in line for a playoff berth.

How bad has Carson Wentz been for the Philadelphia Eagles this season?

Following Sunday’s loss, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson spoke with members of the media and didn’t decline to offer his position regarding the status of Philadelphia’s starting-quarterback situation. Answering questions of whether or not Wentz should be benched moving forward, Pederson responded, via ESPN:

"If you get to that spot where you don’t start him or you bench him, I think you’re sending the wrong message to your football team that this season is over, and that’s a bad message. We have to work through this. When times get tough, sometimes that might be the easy thing to do."

The protection isn’t there and Wentz has been throwing under duress for the entire season. However, a bad offensive line is no excuse for the poor decision-making and lack of ball-security that the Eagles quarterback has embodied during games.

After all, Seahawks passer Russell Wilson has been mentioned as an MVP-candidate at times this season despite being sacked almost as many times as Wentz.

In total, Wentz has been sacked 40 times through 10 games. That figure currently leads the league along with his 14 interceptions, his 263 sack yards lost and 10 fumbles. Taking a step back to let that sink in, it’s easy to determine that the Eagles quarterback isn’t throwing the ball away when being flushed from the pocket. Instead, he’s forcing the ball into coverage and putting it on the turf when being attacked.

In short, the 2020 version of Carson Wentz is one where he exists as a turnover machine. As a franchise quarterback being paid $39.3 million this season, it’s the former-North Dakota State Bison passer’s primary job to put the Eagles in a position to win each Sunday, against all odds. Fiscally, the agreement is a nightmare for Philadelphia.

Pederson is right. If the Eagles are going to return to their winning ways of the past, it’s necessary for Wentz to make the necessary changes immediately. Because at this point, Jalen Hurts isn’t ready to take over as Philadelphia’s starter at quarterback.