Gritty Carson Wentz’s Ball Security Is Not for the Birds

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons may have some much-needed advice for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.

Security is paramount when it comes to the game of football and if you’re a quarterback in the NFL, you can swing the balance of a contest via too many mistakes. That was never more evident than in Week 8 at Baltimore when the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up 265 yards rushing and still managed to pull out a 28-24 win over the Ravens because 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson threw two interceptions – one returned for a touchdown – and also lost the ball twice on fumbles.

On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, quarterback Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles – winners of their last two games – will be taking on a New York Giants team (who they rallied to beat in Week 7, 22-21) and a defense that is starting to come into its own. And if the fifth-year signal-caller doesn’t do a better job of taking care of the pigskin, the Birds’ chances of getting to the .500 mark could be an issue.

The talented signal-caller continues to be reckless with the football and that’s putting it mildly. While he’s thrown for 1,883 yards and 12 scores in leading the battered Eagles to a 3-4-1 record (and first place in the messy NFC East), he’s served up a dozen interceptions and lost four of his seven fumbles. Yes, he’s been sacked 28 times but Wentz is hitting on just 58.4 percent of his throws – a low mark in today’s NFL. Only the Dallas Cowboys (20) have turned over the ball more than Philadelphia (17) and the team’s quarterback has 16 of those miscues.

Back to the Giants. After some early stumbles, Joe Judge’s club has been making it a lot more difficult on opposing offenses. Entering Week 10, New York ranked 15th in the NFL in fewest total yards allowed per game and only five clubs in the league were allowing fewer yards per game on the ground. In last week’s win at Washington, Big Blue came up with five turnovers and now have 15 takeaways in nine games. A year ago, the Giants managed only 16 takeaways in as many games. Of course, the team has its own mistake-plagued quarterback in Daniel Jones.

The Eagles have knocked off the Giants eight consecutive times. And in the club’s last outing, Wentz turned over the ball four times in a Sunday night win over Dallas. It’s hard to believe that the NFC East frontrunners could get away with such a performance, especially against a New York team that owns a 2-7 record (both wins over Washington) and has seen its last five games decided by a total of 10 points.