New Cast May be What Carson Wentz Needed

Eagles quarterback has rookie and former practice squad players singing his praises

PHILADELPHIA - Haven’t heard from any anonymous Eagles locker room snipers recently.

All is calm thanks to a bright two weeks from Carson Wentz, during which time the Eagles quarterback has completed 67.7 percent of his throws (63-for-93) with 591 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over New York and Washington.

Nothing better to fumigate the foul odor that emanated from inside the Eagles’ locker room during some trying moments in October than leading fourth-quarter comebacks.

Nothing better to exterminate some of the rats that scurried from the shadows late last season after Wentz’s season had ended prematurely with a stress fracture in his back than winning.

Fourteen teams have been eliminated the playoffs already. The Eagles aren’t one of them.

Maybe sometime Sunday night, they will be one of them.

The Eagles must beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday (4:25 p.m. kickoff) to prevent the Cowboys from celebrating their second straight NFC East title and doing it on their home field, no less.

Maybe then the sniping will begin anew.

Or maybe not.

Receiver Alshon Jeffery was believed to be one of the anonymous sources, though that was never confirmed. Some believe maybe it was receiver Nelson Agholor, but Agholor vehemently denied it when asked.

No matter who it was, that kind of backstabbing can divide a locker room and make its target – in this case, Wentz – feel as if he must be mindful of what he says, how he acts, and how he plays.

The Eagles’ recent reliance on hungry practice squad players such as Boston Scott and Greg Ward, however, has seemingly altered the locker room dynamic a bit, as has the emergence of rookie running back Miles Sanders.

These guys talk about Wentz like he is the second coming of Tom Brady or something.

“We have a lot of our older guys banged up, so a lot of young guys are stepping up, including myself,” said Sanders, who is just 22. “I just love how Carson trusts us. He’s putting that trust and confidence in us and we’re just going out there and making plays for him.”

After Wentz’s spectacular laser throw to Miles Sanders for a 15-yard touchdown against the Redskins, Scott was asked about it afterward in the locker room.

Love the lady in the front waving her arms as "incomplete." LMAO. https://t.co/929WVo8isE

— Kei (@RealMamaEagle) December 16, 2019

“It was insane,” said Scott. “The first thing, I was like, ‘Did he throw that? Did he catch that?’ That’s (number) 11, man. That’s 11. That’s our leader, that’s our guy. He can make plays like that. We’ve seen him make plays like that. He’ll continue to make plays like that. We have the utmost confidence in him. He’s going to continue to do his thing. We never, ever doubted him.”

When you’re young and hungry, like Scott and Ward, both of whom are 24, and are trying to prove that you belong in the NFL, it is best to follow the leader, not question him. Or go behind his back and speak poorly of him.

Wentz doesn’t have to look over his shoulder with these guys to see who might go running to a national reporter to complain about a bad throw or a check down or his leadership style, which were some of the gripes put forth by anonymous sources this past year.

And it’s refreshing, and maybe something this team needed.

“Going back to the second half of last week (against the Giants), momentum for us offensively, we kind of found a groove and it’s been an interesting season for us offensively to start finding a rhythm and finding a groove.

“I have been extremely confident in myself and guys around me. As I said, it’s been an interesting season for us – up and downs – and we struggled finding a rhythm and being consistent for a while, but I think our confidence is in a really good place.”

Perhaps a little tweak in personnel was exactly what Wentz needed.