Bittersweet Victory: Eagles clinch NFC East but Wentz goes down

At A Glance

The Philadelphia Eagles looked to rebound after the loss. Taking on the LA Rams in a showdown of the 2016 first and second overall picks. Both offenses came out on fire but the Eagles soon took the first half over. Going into the half the score was 24-14 in favor of the Eagles. The Rams came out hot in the second half to take the lead, but the Eagles never went away. The game was a slugfest on all sides, everyone laying it all out for the win. The Eagles eventually came out on top winning 43-35 but in the process lost star quarterback Carson Wentz. A great win for Philly as they clinch the NFC East and regain their spot on top of the NFC as a whole.

In-depth

First Half

Off a Wentz interception on the games opening drive the Rams took a 7-0 lead. The Eagles then promptly responded by walking right down the field capped off with a Brent Celek touchdown to tie the game.

After those opening drives it was almost all Philly. The Eagles dominated in the total yards category 304-167. Carson Wentz continued to show his poise in the pocket as there were numerous times that the rush was bearing down on him but he stuck in there and made the throws. If you were worrying how the Eagles would fare without tight end Zach Ertz, you were feeling pretty good at the half. All three of the touchdowns came from the backup tight ends, two from Trey Burton and one from Brent Celek. Carson Wentz got the better of Jared Goff in the first half. Wentz had 236 yards to Goff’s 118 yards. Wentz also had three first-half touchdown passes to Goff’s one. A tip of the hat to the Eagles defense as well as they held the number two scoring offense to just 14 points and 167 yards in the first half.

Second Half

The Rams came out big at the start of the second half. Scoring two touchdowns in 94 seconds to make it a 28-24 game. Off of a very good opening drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown catch by Sammy Watkins. The Rams then forced the Eagles to punt, blocked it and returned it for a touchdown.

The Eagles then responded on the next drive, by pushing the ball down the field. At the end of the drive, every Philly fan’s worst nightmare came true. Wentz tried to run the ball in for a touchdown, took a hard hit and was visibly hobbled. He stayed in and finished the drive which ended with a score, but never returned to the game. The game then was put in the hands of backup Nick Foles. Who lead the Eagles to back to back field goal drives to put them ahead and the pressure back on Goff. The Philly defense stood tall and forced a three and out with 2:10 left on the clock. Then when the Rams got the ball back for one final play they tried to lateral the ball as a last stitch effort but was sniffed out by Brandom Graham who recovered the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown to reach the final score of 43-35.

Is it time to Panic?

The Eagles clinch the NFC East with the win and sit atop the NFC. As well as possibly silencing all the hate by beating another playoff caliber team. Again another sloppy game by the Eagles as they committed 10 penalties for 67 yards. But everyone knows the biggest story coming out of this game in the health of Carson Wentz. The MVP candidate was injured late in the 3rd quarter but stayed into finished the drive which gave fans some hope. Afterwards, he was quickly taken into the medical tent and then to the locker room. Then in a very unusual move by any NFL team, Wentz was ruled out of the rest of the game very quickly. A horrible sign that the training staff knew that the injury was severe. News then broke the Eagles fear it is a torn ACL for Wentz which would end his season and severely cripple the Eagles as they make their playoff run. An overall good win for the Eagles but it came at an even bigger cost. What is the severity of the injury to Wentz, and is it time to panic if he is done for the year?

– Ryan Mace is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage Eagles. He covers the Philadelphia Eagles. Like and follow on Follow @ryanmace750//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Eagles//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook