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There's still a light at the end of the tunnel for what has statistically been the worst season of Carson Wentz's NFL career.
That light has been made possible by the overall dumpster fire that is the NFC East division. Because the division is so bad, Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles, with a 3-6-1 record going into their Week 12 "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, still have a good chance of making it to the playoffs.
Wentz has thrown more interceptions than any other NFL quarterback this season. His 14 interceptions have already tied his career-worst total, from his rookie year in 2016. That year, Wentz threw 16 touchdowns and 14 picks in 16 games. This year, he's thrown 14 touchdowns and 14 picks in 10 games.
In addition to the interceptions, Wentz has lost five fumbles this season. He doesn't just lead the NFL in interceptions with 14, but he also leads the league in total turnovers with 19.
Wentz threw two interceptions in each of the Eagles' first three games of the season. He cut it down to one pick in Week 4, then threw another pair of picks in Week 5. He's had two other multi-interception games, and only two games without throwing an interception.
Going into this week's "Monday Night Football" game, the Eagles were reportedly giving rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts more reps with the first team offense in practice. Wentz is still going to start, but Hurts is expected to see an increased number of snaps, perhaps in special packages and for trick plays.
If Hurts impresses, however, it could be bad news for the turnover-prone Wentz.
Interceptions haven't been Wentz's only problem
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Wentz came to the Philadelphia Eagles from North Dakota State University with all the high expectations typical of a potential franchise quarterback.
After his aforementioned rocky debut season, Wentz looked every bit like a star in Year 2. In the 2017 season, Wentz led the Eagles to an 11-2 record through the first 13 games. He passed for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions. He was eventually voted to the Pro Bowl.
But in Week 14, Wentz suffered a torn ACL in his knee that ended his 2017 season. Backup QB Nick Foles replaced him and wound up leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship over the New England Patriots.
Going into the 2018 season, the Eagles had to decide whether to stick with Foles or give Wentz his job back. The decision was easy for them early on, since Wentz was still recovering and had to miss the first couple weeks of the season. Once Wentz was cleared, however, and was renamed Philadelphia's starting QB in Week 3.
Wentz wasn't as good as the year before and the team went 5-6 in his 11 starts. He suffered a back injury late in the season, and Foles had to take over again, leading the Eagles to a wild-card round playoff win over the Chicago Bears before they lost to the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round.
That offseason, the Eagles had to pick a quarterback.
The team decided to let Foles go in free agency (he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars) and give Wentz a four-year, $128 million contract extension. Wentz led the Eagles to another playoff berth in 2019, where they lost to the Seahawks in the wild card round after Wentz suffered a concussion in the first quarter and had to miss the rest of the game.
Things got really bad for Wentz in 2020. His 58.4 completion percentage, 73.3 passer rating and 48.4 QBR are all career-lows. He also has a career-high 3.7 interception percentage.
The Eagles have a losing record, but they're still in position to have a positive outcome in the postseason.
