The Eagles have a problem on their hands.
Their once dual-threat, franchise quarterback is no longer a threat to actually run with the ball, and as a result, Carson Wentz has been forced to stand in the pocket — exposing the reality that he is simply not an accurate passer at this point in his career.
Coming out of North Dakota State, Wentz was viewed as a dual-threat quarterback, capable of doing damage on the ground as well through the air. While quarterbacks have become more-and-more athletic and dangerous on the ground over the last few seasons, when Wentz was drafted in 2016, he was viewed as one of the more athletic quarterbacks in the league at the time.
In his first two seasons, that was correct — Wentz made things happen when he took off.
In 2017, Wentz averaged 4.7 yards per attempt and rushed for 27 first downs. He had 13 runs of 10-plus yards that year. Overall, in 2016 and 2017, Wentz finished with 20 runs of 10-yards or more in his first 29 games on 110 attempts.
Since tearing his ACL at the end of the 2017 season, and suffering a serious back injury early on in 2018, he has not been that same threat despite continuing to run the ball.
Since the start of the 2018 season, Wentz has just eight runs of 10 yards or more in his last 28 games on 96 attempts. That is less than half of what he had in his first 29 games on roughly the same amount of attempts.
To put that in perspective, Matt Ryan has seven runs of 10-yards or more and Kirk Cousins has six during the same stretch that Wentz has eight. Nobody would say they are a threat with their legs as a runner, but they have basically the same chance of making a big run as Wentz does.
Some other alarming stats about Wentz as a runner post-2017 (not including the first two weeks of 2020):
** Over the last two seasons, Wentz is 10th in rushing attempts among quarterbacks, but 17th in yards.
** Wentz is 31st in rushing touchdowns with just one (now two after scoring on Sunday).
** Of the top 10 quarterbacks in rushing attempts over the last two seasons, Wentz is the only one to average less than 4.0 yards-per-carry. Wentz averages 3.5 yards-per-carry, with every other quarterback in the top 10 at 4.5 yards-per-carry or over.
While the big running plays have been few-and-far between, Wentz attempting to make something happen when pressure comes has resulted in him putting the ball on the ground more than any other quarterback.
Here is a look at the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL in rushing attempts the last two seasons. I ranked them by how many first-down runs they have since the start of 2018, and included how many fumbles they have been credited with/lost.
Lamar Jackson: 120 1st-downs (21 fumbles, 6 lost)
Josh Allen: 83 1st-downs (22 fumbles, 6 lost)
Cam Newton: 82 1st downs (17 fumbles, 1 lost) **Newton didn’t play in 2019, so there are 2018/2017 stats**
Deshaun Watson: 66 1st-downs (19 fumbles, 6 lost)
Dak Prescott: 49 1st-downs (18 fumbles, 8 lost)
Russell Wilson: 42 1st-downs (18 fumbles, 4 lost)
Mitchell Trubisky: 41 1st-downs (11 fumbles, 5 lost)
Jameis Winston: 37 1st-downs (22 fumbles, 8 lost)
Patrick Mahomes: 34 1st-downs (12 fumbles, 4 lost)
Carson Wentz: 29 1st-downs (25 fumbles, 13 lost)
Going into a game, over the last two years, it is almost as likely Wentz will fumble the ball (25 times) as it is he will run for a first down (29). He is the only quarterback in the top 10 with double-digit lost fumbles. He has fumbled the ball away 13 times, which is as many as Jackson, Allen and Newton combined. Wentz's nearly 1-to-1 first-down-to-fumble ratio is considerably worse than any of the other top rushing quarterbacks in the league.
Not only is Wentz simply is not a threat on the ground anymore, but he recklessness with the ball is hurting the team. That is a problem for the Eagles. As owner Jeffrey Lurie and the front office try to change their offense into one of the explosive, dangerous units you see around the league, they are trying to do it with a quarterback that isn't a threat on the the ground -- something almost all of the young, elite quarterbacks are.
It is never easy for any athlete to have to change their game or playing style due to injury, and as we watch Wentz struggle to start the season, that could be part of the problem. The Eagles can't roll Wentz out of the pocket every play. Wentz has had to adjust his game, becoming more of a pocket quarterback than the dual-threat he was expected to be (and was) the first two seasons of his career.
Right now, if Wentz is going to turn back into a winning quarterback, he is going to have to figure out how to do it from the pocket and with his arm — because it simply isn’t happening for him as a runner anymore.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!