J.J. McCarthy is expected to be out with an ankle injury for a period of time, putting Carson Wentz into the lineup for the Vikings. Good luck to him, but I am not optimistic.
I was a fan of Wentz back in his Eagles days, when he was an MVP favorite -- seriously -- the year they wound up going to the Super Bowl, and winning, with Nick Foles. But things fell apart for him shortly after that, and it's been all downhill for him since.
He went to the Colts had the team in playoff contention, but collapsed in the division-deciding game. He washed out hard with Washington, and had a cup of coffee with the Rams and then Kansas City last year. It's pretty much all been bad.
Below are Wentz's last 10 starts, with the Colts, Commanders, Rams and Kansas City. It's not pretty.
| CARSON WENTZ, LAST 10 STARTS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp. | Result | Pass | TD | Int | Sk | Fum |
| 2021 | at Jac. | L, 11-26 | 185 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 2022 | Jac. | W, 28-22 | 313 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | at Det. | L, 27-36 | 337 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022 | Phi. | L, 8-24 | 211 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 2022 | at Dal. | L, 10-25 | 170 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | Ten. | L, 17-21 | 359 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 2022 | at Chi. | W, 12-7 | 99 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | Cle. | L, 10-24 | 143 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | at S.F. | W, 21-20 | 163 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | at Den. | L, 0-38 | 98 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Average | 208 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 0.7 | ||
Wentz averaged 208 passing yards and 1.3 TD passes in those games, so there's that. But his teams went 3-7, and it's fair to place a lot of the blame at the feet of Wentz himself. It's a team game and maybe the players around him were at fault for some of what happened, but in those 10 games Wentz averaged 1.1 interceptions, 3.8 sacks, and 0.7 fumbles a game. (Totals: 11 picks, 38 sacks and 7 fumbles in 10 contests.)
Wentz will now be working with noted quarterback whisperer Kevin O'Connell, who can maybe get Wentz playing a little cleaner. He had some success with Nick Mullens, though even he gave up quickly on Joshua Dobbs. With Wentz, we'll see, but a big leap of faith is required.
I don't know that I'm willing to stream the Bengals defense this week, but if Wentz is still starting in Week 4, he'll be facing the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Ireland. Begorrah -- that might be a cure for what ails that defense so far.
--Andy Richardson