The Philadelphia Eagles upset the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in Jalen Hurts‘ first start, but head coach Doug Pederson is likely regretting the timing of the decision to bench Carson Wentz.
Jalen Hurts made his first career start in the NFL on Sunday after head coach, Doug Pederson, had no choice but to bench his franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. The decision ended up working out better than anyone would’ve thought, as the 3-win Eagles upset the best team in the NFC.
So it begs the question: why did Pederson wait this long to bench Wentz?
To be fair, he was put in a tough spot. Wentz signed a $124 million extension and so it’s an expensive player to have on the bench. But, the bottom line is Pederson’s job is to put his team in the best position to win and Wentz simply wasn’t producing enough to justify leaving him as the starter.
Pederson knew that Wentz was absolutely horrible this season. The former Pro Bowler was turning the ball over left and right, as he had just 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
The Eagles may have found their next franchise quarterback and they had him sitting on the bench for the first 13 weeks while Wentz was holding onto the ball too long and leading the league in turnovers. Imagine how much different Philadelphia’s record could’ve looked if Pederson went to Hurts sooner.
Examples of Costly Wentz Mistakes
There are numerous games this year where the final score probably would’ve been different if Hurts was in the game. I’m not saying Hurts should’ve been the quarterback in Week 1, but the Eagles lost a 17-point lead and failed to score any points in the second half. Wentz had two turnovers in that collapse.
Wentz threw two interceptions in their Week 3 tie against Cincinnati and then another two in the Browns loss. He went without a touchdown in their Week 9 loss at Metlife Stadium against the Giants. The Eagles had the Seattle Seahawks on the ropes on Monday Night Football, but Wentz threw an interception in the endzone.
Should Pederson Made a Change Earlier?
Hurts is going to make mistakes, so I’m not trying to make it sound like he’s the next Joe Montana but he doesn’t turn the ball over as much as Wentz and he doesn’t try to be the hero by forcing the issue to his team’s detriment.
Philadelphia has had many opportunities to have more wins than the four they have. If Hurts’ performance against the Saints is a sign of things to come, then Pederson will be regretting his decision to stay with Wentz for as long as he did.
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