Carson Wentz Beat Aaron Rodgers on Road in 2019, Can Struggling QB do it Again?
Once upon a time, Carson Wentz beat Aaron Rodgers.
OK, it was only last year, but it feels like a lifetime ago the way the Eagles offense and their quarterback are playing this season.
And, really, it wasn’t Wentz that beat Rodgers. It was the offense as a whole, and the 34-27 win that early fall Thursday night in Lambeau Field was as complete of a performance as the team has had since, well, maybe that very game on Sept. 26.
Wentz said on Wednesday that he has re-watched that game, as well as many others, as he and the Eagles prepare to go back to Lambeau Field
“I don’t think we had any crazy stats for throwing the ball,” said Wentz. “I think we ran the ball really effectively. I think it was a complete game all the way around. Down to the wire against a really good opponent.
“I think that’s what it’s going to come down to, just executing both in the run game and in the passing game, and not making mistakes, limiting turnovers or costly errors. The way we played a complete game there last year, I think, is what it’s going to take this year.”
A complete game just doesn’t seem possible for this team.
They and the New York Jets are the only teams in the league this season who have failed to score 30 points and to keep up with a Green Bay offense that leads the NFL in points, well, it feels like an impossible mission.
The Seahawks had the league’s worst pass defense, and the Eagles were unable to exploit it.
The Packers’ run defense has done an average job, checking in at 13th best in the league with an average of 114.1 yards allowed per game.
Last year, the Eagles torched the Packers’ on the ground, piling up 176 yards on the ground, with Jordan Howard, who remains, inexplicably, on the Eagles’ practice squad, running for 87 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Howard also had three catches for 28 yards.
Miles Sanders added 72 yards on 11 runs and mixed in a 67-yard kickoff return.
“It (the run game) could be a key (to winning), just establishing the run and just being consistent with it throughout the game,” said Sanders, who has 600 yards rushing in eight games this season with a 5.6 yards per carry average. “I think that will give us a chance to stay on the field and keep 12 (GB QB Aaron Rodgers) out of the game, but that’s not really our thought.
“We have a good game plan, a very dynamic game plan, and just ready to get out there and get to work.”
Wentz didn’t have to do much at all to beat Rodgers and Green Bay. Well, except for three touchdown passes. Wentz threw for just 160 yards, though.
Maybe he won’t have to do that this year, either, if Pederson dials up the run early, often, and throughout the game, especially with Wentz struggling as badly as he is absorbing 46 times and throwing 15 interceptions, both league highs.
“No matter what sport you’re playing, it’s onto the next,” said Wentz. “You have to stay confident, stay positive. Your mind can play tricks on you to try to tell you one thing, to lose some confidence or whatever, you have to press forward, go onto the next play, stay positive, and trust the guys around you. Talk about it, learn from whatever the mistake was, but you gotta stay positive, and keep going.”
Maybe getting Zach Ertz back will help, though probably not.
The tight end was activated from Injured Reserve earlier in the week, but even when healthy, which hasn’t been since the Oct. 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens, the connection between he and Wentz wasn’t what it had been.
“I see a team that’s had a lot of adversity,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur. “They’ve had a lot of injuries. That’s always hard on a quarterback when you have a bunch of new people in there. It’s not consistent. They’ve started 10 different combinations up front, and obviously, Ertz being out has really hurt them. Not having all his weapons at wide receiver has really hurt him. So, I take (his bad year) with a grain of salt.”
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