To date, Carson Wentz's career has been tough to get a read on.
At times he has looked special. At times he has been hurt. He has played poorly in wins, great in losses, and everything in between. His team has looked great with him under center and at times they have looked better with him on the sideline. The rollercoaster Wentz has been on for the first three-plus years of his career is perhaps unlike any other quarterback in league history, making it tough to judge just how good he really is.
On Wednesday, Wentz was asked if he feels quarterbacks should be judged by something much simpler — wins and losses.
"Absolutely. I think that is our job," Wentz said. "In this league we are striving to win every week, and as quarterback that is how you should be judged for sure."
Wentz is correct — quarterback win/loss record is perhaps the best way to judge a quarterback. With how much impact they have over the game, and their ability to control the most important part of the game — offense — it is very rare that a bad quarterback wins consistently over time. On the flip side, very few good quarterbacks have a losing record or don't win consistently over a long stretch.
So to see where Wentz really stacks up amongst other quarterbacks in the league, here is a look at the winning percentages of every other notable starting quarterback in the NFL currently (minimum 20 games started):
Tom Brady: 214-60 (78%)
Patrick Mahomes: 18-6 (75%)
Russell Wilson: 80-38 (67.7%)
Dak Prescott: 36-19 (65%)
Aaron Rodgers: 106-58 (64%)
Jared Goff: 28-17 (62%)
Deshaun Watson: 18-11 (62%)
Drew Brees: 156-109 (58.8%)
Mitchell Trubisky: 18-13 (58%)
Nick Foles: 26-19 (57.7%)
Joe Flacco: 98-72 (57%)
Matt Ryan: 103-78 (56%)
Philip Rivers: 120-95 (55.8%)
Carson Wentz: 26-21 (55.31%)
Andy Dalton: 68-57-2 (53%)
Kirk Cousins: 39-39-2 (48%)
Marcus Mariota: 29-32 (47%)
Matthew Stafford: 68-78-1 (46%)
Derek Carr: 35-49 (41%)
Jacoby Brissett: 9-14 (39%)
Jameis Winston: 23-37 (38%)
Just for fun, here are some of the younger quarterbacks not included because they haven't played 20 games:
Lamar Jackson: 11-3 (78%)
Jimmy Garoppolo: 14-2 (87%)
Josh Allen: 10-7 (58.8%)
Baker Mayfield: 8-11 (42%)
Sam Darnold: 5-11 (31%)
Younger quarterbacks aside, the list is certainly interesting and definitely highlights a few things.
First, it is hard to argue with the top three — ask anyone who they think the best quarterbacks in the game are and you are likely to get one of the top three on this list. Rodgers might get some votes as well, and he is right up there, coming in at No. 5.
The placement of Prescott will make some people scratch their heads, but it shouldn't. Prescott has proven he can win in this league, and has pretty consistently come up on the winning end of important games for the Cowboys — especially late in the season or against the Eagles.
So what about Wentz?
He comes in 14th on this. If you want to include guys like Jackson, Garoppolo and Allen, he would be 17th — and somewhere between 14th-and-17th seems just about right for where Wentz is right now in his career.
Although Wentz has potential, the reality is so far in his career he has been pretty inconsistent. His strengths are clear — he is great on third-down and in the red zone, two crucial area for a quarterback to succeed in. So far through 47 games, those are without question the two best areas of his game, and him playing so well in those spots should be very encouraging for the Eagles.
When it comes to consistent accuracy and deep ball placement, however, he has struggled. Wentz is currently 33rd in the NFL in adjusted completion percentage, per Pro Football Focus, which takes into accounts drops, throwaways, spikes, etc. Each week Wentz seems to make 3-4 throws that are just off target. Until he proves he can hurt teams from the pocket, teams are going to keep him in there and try to prevent him from rolling out.
What Wentz's record also shows is that he simply needs to start stacking up some wins.
When the Eagles drafted Wentz at No. 2 overall in 2016, it is hard to imagine many fans would have signed up for a 26-21 record with no playoff wins under his belt. Yes, Wentz played a huge role in the Super Bowl in 2017, but he didn't play in those games. When it comes to simply winning games, Wentz has been slightly above average overall. He has struggled recently on the road, and since suffering a torn ACL in 2017, he holds a 8-10 record as a starter — just a 44% winning percentage. For whatever you think of Wentz's game, that is a hard number to ignore.
Wentz will have a chance to add another win to his resume this Sunday when the 3-4 Eagles travel to Buffalo to take on the 5-1 Bills.
For a quarterback that wants to be judged by wins-and-losses, it is a great chance to start proving he can lead his team out of the below-.500 funk they have been in.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
