Dispelling 10 myths about Carson Wentz

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The most unfortunate thing about this offseason has been the anti-Carson Wentz sentiment that has developed among some fans.

With the Eagles about to move on from Foles, you hear every imaginable reason the Eagles should keep the 2017 Super Bowl MVP.

Carson isn’t efficient. Carson doesn’t throw to the wide receivers. Carson turns the ball over too much. Carson didn’t play well against good teams.

You can make a valid case for the Eagles to keep Foles if you stick to the facts.

But much of what we keep reading regarding Wentz’s 2018 season simply isn’t true.

So with that in mind, here are 10 Carson Wentz myths dispelled.

Myth No. 1: “The offense just functioned much better with Nick at quarterback.”

The Reality: Actually, the defense did. The Eagles averaged 22.9 points per game this year with Wentz at quarterback and 22.1 points per game with Foles at QB. The defense was another story. During the 11 games Wentz played, the defense allowed 23.3 points per game. During the seven games Foles started, the defense allowed 18.1 points per game.

Myth No. 2: “Nick got the ball to the wide receivers. Carson just dumped it off.”

The Reality: Wentz actually completed a slightly higher percentage of his passes this past year to wide receivers — 45.7 percent for Wentz and 45.4 percent for Foles. Essentially the same. 

Myth No. 3: “Nick got the ball down the field way better than Carson!”

The Reality: Carson averaged more than half a yard per attempt more this year than Nick. Carson finished the season at 7.67 with Foles at 7.07. Including the last two years, Foles is closer but the numbers are similar — Carson at 7.57 and Foles at 7.16.

Myth No. 4: “Carson just turns the ball over too often. Nick is really careful with the ball.”

The Reality: Wentz had seven interceptions and nine fumbles (losing six) and Foles had eight interceptions and four fumbles (losing two). So Wentz played 724 snaps and turned the ball over 13 times and Foles played 476 snaps and had 10 turnovers. Wentz averaged a turnover every 55.7 plays and Foles one every 47.6 plays.

Myth No. 5: “Nick was money late in games. Carson wasn’t.”

The Reality: Wentz actually had the eighth-highest fourth-quarter passer rating out of 36 QBs who threw at least 50 fourth-quarter passes at 102.4. Foles ranked 33rd out of those 36 quarterbacks with a 67.5 fourth-quarter passer rating.

Myth No. 6: “Alshon didn’t get going until Nick took over!”

The Reality: Alshon averaged significantly more yards per catch with Foles — 16 per catch compared to 11. But five of his six touchdowns came from Carson, and he actually averaged more catches per game with Wentz (4.5) than Foles (3.9).

Myth No. 7: “Carson can’t throw the deep ball like Nick.”

The Reality: Nick throws a great deep ball, but Wentz actually had 16 completions of 30 yards this year or more compared to nine for Foles. That’s one every 25 attempts for Carson and one every 30 attempts for Foles.

Myth No. 8: “Nick really moved the chains better than Carson.”

The Reality: Carson threw for 163 first downs compared to 89 for Nick. That’s 14.8 passing first downs per game for Carson and 12.7 for Nick.

Myth No. 9: Carson built up his stats against bad teams. Nick was much better against winning teams.

The Reality: Carson was actually sharper against winning teams. Nick completed 67 percent of his passes vs. winning teams for 298 yards per game with seven TDs and six interceptions for an 89.6 passer rating. Carson also completed 67 percent of his passes vs. winning teams for 307 yards with 10 TDs and four INTs and a 92.9 passer rating.

Myth No. 10: “Well, Nick was more consistent than Carson.”

The Reality: He actually wasn’t. Seven of the eight-highest passer ratings by Eagles QBs this year belong to Carson, and five of the seven lowest belong to Nick. Here’s that chart:

122.2 … Carson Wentz at Giants
120.4 … Nick Foles vs. Texans
120.3 … Carson Wentz at Cowboys
119.6 … Carson Wentz vs. Panthers
119.6 … Carson Wentz at Jaguars
115.3 … Carson Wentz vs. Vikings
108.6 … Carson Wentz vs. Giants
102.5 … Carson Wentz vs. Cowboys
102.1 … Nick Foles at Redskins
99.4 … Carson Wentz at Titans
98.9 … Carson Wentz vs. Redskins
98.8 … Nick Foles at Buccaneers
89.4 … Nick Foles at Rams
84.9 … Carson Wentz vs. Colts
77.7 … Nick Foles at Bears
61.4 … Nick Foles at Saints
50.7 … Nick Foles vs. Falcons
31.9 … Carson Wentz vs. Saints

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