Why Carson Wentz Ending Up With Los Angeles Rams Is Ironic
Once the initial surprise of the Los Angeles Rams signing quarterback Carson Wentz subsided Tuesday, all you could do was laugh at the fact that, of all teams, this is the one the former No. 2 overall pick is getting a chance to revive his career with.
Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles entered the LA Memorial Coliseum on Dec. 10, 2017, with a 10-2 record.
The second-year quarterback had emerged as the clear-cut NFL MVP favorite, with the Eagles looking the part of a Super Bowl contender under second-year coach Doug Pederson. A statement against coach Sean McVay's 9-3 Rams would solidify their status as the NFC's best team.
Carson Wentz's Philadelphia Eagles career was forever changed by a pair of matchups with the Los Angeles Rams.
USA Today
By now, you know how this story ended. Wentz suffered a torn ACL in his left knee as he dove for the end zone late in the third quarter and was sandwiched in between two defenders.
The injury ended Wentz's 2017 season, and changed the course of his career. Of course, backup Nick Foles would come in and not only help the Eagles to secure a 43-35 win over the Rams but eventually lead them to their first Super Bowl title, taking home MVP after a 41-33 victory over the vaunted New England Patriots.
What's forgotten about the Week 14 contest is that despite missing the final quarter and change, Wentz delivered perhaps the defining performance of his career. Even with his favorite target -- tight end Zach Ertz -- out with an injury,
Wentz was dominant against eventual Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald and the Rams. Wentz tossed four touchdowns to one interception, breaking Donovan McNabb's single-season franchise record for touchdown passes while racking up 291 yards in less than three quarters.
Even after tearing his ACL, Wentz stayed in and completed a successful fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to receiver Alshon Jeffery. The game encapsulated everything that made a young Wentz exciting and also worried Eagles fans about his ability to stay healthy over the long run.
He had a never-say-die attitude that was insanely exciting when it was working but also led to him tearing his ACL on a first-and-goal rushing attempt that ended up with his dive into the end zone for a touchdown getting nullified by a holding penalty on right tackle Lane Johnson.
In hindsight, there was no reason for Wentz to treat this specific play like time was expiring in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. And doing so prevented him from being part of a Super Bowl run.
The irony doesn't stop there, though.
A year later, the Eagles season was on life support when they traveled to the Colesium for a Week 15 matchup on Sunday Night Football. Philadelphia was 6-7, set to face a Rams team that was the class of the NFC with an 11-2 record.
Wentz's season appeared to be over as he dealt with a fractured vertebra in his back. Foles was again there to take over, but Philadelphia's playoff odds were slim, especially considering that the reigning Super Bowl MVP's postseason magic from the prior year didn't seem to carry over in two underwhelming performances early in the season.
Foles, though, got hot again. While he had a pick and no touchdown passes in the game, he completed 24 of 31 pass attempts. The aforementioned Jeffery -- never particularly shy about his lack of chemistry with Wentz -- exploded for eight catches and 160 yards in a 30-23 win. There was juice with Foles under center that hadn't seemed to be there in 2018 with Wentz.
The Eagles won the final three games of the season, and by virtue of "the double doink" upset the Chicago Bears in the first round of the postseason before a close loss to the New Orleans Saints a week later.
Nonetheless, there was a feeling that the Eagles, with Foles at quarterback, could very well have won a second consecutive Super Bowl. The second magical run with Foles is arguably what began to turn the tides in Philadelphia on Wentz, and in hindsight, probably destroyed much of what was remaining of the latter's confidence.
Los Angeles has since rebranded, and moved into SoFi Stadium. They won Super Bowl LVI with Matthew Stafford at quarterback, and Wentz is joining the Rams as the backup to the team's franchise player at the position. Outside of McVay, Donald and receiver Cooper Kupp, there's not a lot similar about the Rams from 2017, and Wentz couldn't be at a more different place in his career.
But it would be impossible for it not to have crossed Wentz's mind that if not for two Eagles games against the Rams in 2017 and 2018, he may still be in Philadelphia. Now, he's left to pick up the pieces of his career for the franchise that once released Foles, opening the door for his eventual return to the Eagles. It's all crazy when you think about it.
