With the Eagles’ season on the line, quarterback Carson Wentz was at his best. Down 11 in the 4th quarter, Wentz led the Eagles(2-4-1) on two scoring drives, and ultimately, Philadelphia would defeat the Giants 22-21 at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday Night Football.
Wentz, who almost pulled off a similar comeback last Sunday against Baltimore, finished the game 25/43 for 341 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The fifth-year quarterback put the Eagles on his back and got the victory.
“There wasn’t a lot of time, but we said there was enough time,” Wentz said after the game. “There’s enough time; we just have to keep believing and just take it one play at a time. Obviously, we were in turbo, on-the-ball, two-minute mode the rest of the game. [But it was] the same thing that I echo every game when we’re down, ‘Just keep believing, just one play at a time and big play is going to hit. It’s going to happen.’ [Eagles WR] John [Hightower] had the big one that first drive and obviously [Eagles RB] Boston [Scott] on the second drive. Guys just keep believing and keep rallying together, and that’s what it’s going to take to win a lot of these ball games.”
According to NBC Philly’s John Clark, Wentz has thrown for 214 yards with five total touchdowns and a 118.2 passer rating in the fourth quarter of the past two games, and according to Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, it’s good to see Wentz carrying the team.
“Quite honestly, it’s good to see your quarterback being able to put the team on his back and lead a comeback like he did in this game,” Pederson said on Friday. “Obviously, the Baltimore game is another one where we made the comeback and put ourselves in a position to tie that football game. That part is good to see.
“We want to try to at least minimize being down two scores late in the fourth quarter and have to come back every week. Those are hard to overcome. That’s one of the things you love about Carson, he’s constantly fighting with his guys and battling with his guys out there. He wants the ball in his hands at the end of the game.
“The other thing is when we’re down two scores like that, you go right into your two-minute offense. You saw the play to [WR John] Hightower, you saw the play to [TE] Richard Rodgers. The Richard play was a scramble, big play in the game. That’s who Carson is, a constant competitor and wants to win.”
Now, it’s time for Philadelphia to build on this win. While Wentz has to do a better job of protecting the football, he is carrying the Eagles, and hopefully, for Philadelphia, he can carry them to an NFC East title.
