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Carson Wentz is no stranger to being pilloried by analysts and fans, and to be fair to them, he has given them a fair amount of ammunition over the years. The criticism was exacerbated due to the Indianapolis Colts' failure to qualify for a near-certain playoff berth last year by losing their last regular-season game to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars finished the season 3-13, which was the worst record in the entire NFL. The Colts quarterback played poorly in the defeat and was hammered by the media and fans alike. It was possibly his worst display for Indianapolis.
He completed 17 passes from 29 attempts for 185 yards. He threw a solitary touchdown and an interception. The quarterback also lost a fumble and was sacked six times by the Jaguars defense. In the most pivotal moment of the campaign, he fell apart and finished with a quarterback rating of 74.6.
Shortly afterwards, he was traded to the Washington Commanders.
He now has a chance of resetting having joined the Commanders. It seems that the naysayers are on his case, though, and we thought we would look at his record over the years to see if the criticism of the quarterback is over the top or justified.
Revisiting Carson Wentz's record
Wentz's greatest success, of course, remains the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles' season, when he led them to a 11-2 record before getting injured. Though his performances have been overshadowed due to Nick Foles' brilliance in guiding them to victory in Super Bowl LII, Wentz was the foundation of their success that season. He also made it to the Pro Bowl.
A lot of the flack seems to have come from his performances in the 2020 season, when he had league-leading interceptions (15) and just 16 touchdowns. His record was similar in his rookie season as well, but rookies often struggle in the NFL.
He regularly has more than 20 touchdowns per season and is usually reliable when throwing the ball, which is reflected in his interception statistics. He has a healthy quarterback rating of 90.1 over his career.
Even compared to other quarterbacks, his record doesn't look that bad. Compare him to Matthew Stafford. Stafford is a reigning Super Bowl champion and there was discussion about whether he should be part of the Hall of Fame in the future. Both quarterbacks have won one Super Bowl apiece. Though admittedly, Wentz did not feature in the Super Bowl game. The completion rate for both quarterbacks is around 63%. Both have a quarterback rating near 91. Stafford has a higher interception rate per game of 0.9 compared to 0.7 for Wentz.
This is not to say Wentz is a world-beater or he is in the same category as the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes. But he is certainly better than people make him out to be.
He has had a couple of bad seasons, but he has had more than a decent record in others to make up for it. With the right coach, like he had with Doug Pederson in Philadelphia, he could be an asset to an organization. Ron Rivera will certainly be hoping to unlock his full potential.
We shall see how the quarterback and the Commanders get on when the 2022 season kicks off later this year.
