Wentz’s strong stats vs. NFC East could be point of optimism originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Carson Wentz spent the first five seasons of his career as a Philadelphia Eagle and now after one year in Indianapolis, makes his return to the NFC East as the QB1 for the Washington Commanders.
Several media pundits deemed the deal—which saw the Commanders send two third-round picks to Indy in exchange for the QB—as, well, not the splash signing the team was hoping to make this offseason. It’s hard to argue with that. But though Wentz’s arrival in D.C. won’t get fans buzzing, this might: Carson Wentz absolutely dominated the NFC East during his tenure in Philadelphia.
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers here:
Carson Wentz played 25 career games against the Commanders, Giants and Cowboys while he was the Eagles’ starter. He went 16-9 during that time; not too shabby.
Per Statmuse, Wentz put up a collective 94.6 passer rating while playing against the NFC East, throwing for 6,446 yards. More encouraging though might be his TD-INT ratio during those games.
For every three touchdowns Wentz threw against the division, he threw just one interception. With 42 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions across his 25 games against the division, Wentz might still reach the highs he once enjoyed during his roller-coaster career.
And by roller coaster, this must be known: Wentz has really flip-flopped between Pro Bowl-caliber signal-caller and little more than an average passer. Across different seasons, he’s completed 69% of his passes, he’s completed 57% of his passes. He’s thrown for 4,000 yards and seven interceptions, he’s thrown for 2,600 yards and 15 interceptions.
Many of those numbers were compiled against his new squad. Wentz played eight games vs. Washington during his four-year career in Philly, going 5-3 during that span. Perhaps most notably, he put up a masterclass in Week 1 of the 2019 campaign, beating the Burgundy & Gold 32-27 with 313 passing yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions while completing 71.8% of his passes.
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Now obviously, the competition changes with Wentz’s new digs in D.C. He’ll have to compete as a visitor in Philadelphia for the first time in his career, and with Dallas on the up-and-up, matchups against the Giants and Eagles might be the more winnable division games for Washington.
By no means is Wentz a sure-fire lock to light up the NFC East as he used to as an Eagle, but his familiarity with the division could be a good omen for the Commanders. Granted, he won’t have the stud offensive line he enjoyed in Indianapolis, but a fresh start in his old division could give him a much-needed sense of comfortability.