Carson Wentz Belongs in the MVP Discussion Through Week Six
He may only be 22 games into his NFL career, but Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is certainly at the top of his game. Through the first six games of the 2017 campaign, Wentz has thrown for 1,584 yards, 13 touchdowns, while only being intercepted three times. Philly is the toast of the NFC after improving to 5–1 against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football. The Eagles have seen drastic improvements throwing the ball down the field and converting on third down, all thanks to Carson Wentz.
With a 66.7% completion percentage, 642 yards, and seven touchdowns, Wentz is easily the best third down quarterback in the league right now. Like any football fan can attest to, third down success is crucial to find overall success. Wentz propensity to perform with fourth down breathing on his neck should be a major factor in his MVP candidacy. What’s even more impressive is the average distance of the third downs he’s converting. On third or fouth downs with an average of nine yards to go or more, Wentz has completed 70.8 percent of his passes, tossed for 325 yards, and two touchdowns.
Coming into Week Seven the Eagles possess the best record in the NFC and by design, that should throw their signal caller into the meat of the MVP discussion. With Aaron Rodgers going down with a broken collarbone today, we may see more attention shift to Wentz as a potential NFL MVP, especially if Kansas City’s Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt falter against Pittsburgh today.
From 2016 to 2017, Wentz is continuing to demonstrate better pocket awareness, improved mobility, and a better overall sense of the functionality of Doug Pederson’s offense. All these factors are directly translating into on-the-field success for the Eagles. A great example of this improved decision making came during Thursday’s game against Carolina. Wentz looked like a comfortable veteran, cruising through his progressions and working back to the middle of the field to find Zach Ertz for a one-yard touchdown.
The Eagles are turning heads around the league, which is to the dismay of some, like FS1’s Skip Bayless. Bayless, a die-hard Cowboys fan, has been skeptical about Wentz rise to stardom and still feels he has a long way to go before being an elite caliber quarterback. Of course, some of that could be a biased Cowboys perspective, but frankly Wentz still has a long season in front of him and needs to continue to sustain his high level of performance.
With 10 games left in his 2017 season, Wentz should now find himself in discussion for the league’s most coveted individual award. With his stellar play through the first six games, he is right where he belongs and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to perform all season. MVP or not, I’m sure Eagles fans are overjoyed that they have someone at the helm who could finally lead them to the promised land. Fly Eagles Fly.
