The Eagles host the Cincinnati Bengals at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, hoping to avoid an 0-3 start.
After back-to-back losses to Washington and the Rams, the Eagles have an 0-2 record. The Bengals have lost to the Chargers and Browns, so they’re 0-2 as well.
Here are a few important links:
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And here are three important things to know before kickoff:
1. All the focus will be on Carson Wentz this week. After two games, Wentz has completed just 58.8 percent of his passes for 512 yards, 2 TDs and 4 INTs. To put it simply, he’s been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL.
The worst part about his struggles is that he’s missing easy throws. Even though Doug Pederson scoffed at the idea of “layups” Wentz is missing throws he normally makes. There’s something wrong.
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This is obviously very troubling, that he’s in Year 5 and just had two of his worst-career performances in back-to-back weeks to begin the season.
Earlier in the week, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said he sees flaws in Wentz’s mechanics over the first two games of the season. The good news is that he thinks those things are correctible. But Wentz better hurry.
2. While Wentz has struggled through two games, rookie quarterback Joe Burrow has been impressive for the Bengals. Sure, the Bengals are still 0-2, but the No. 1 pick has lived up to the hype.
Last Thursday, in a losing effort to the Browns, Burrow threw for 316 yards with 3 TDs and 0 interceptions. Burrow has looked good but his offensive line hasn’t. The guys in front of the rookie haven’t done a very good job of protecting him, allowing three sacks in each game and leaving Burrow running for his life. The Eagles pass rush has a chance to really get after Burrow on Sunday afternoon.
And with Jim Schwartz’s history against rookie quarterbacks, that’s a good sign.
3. The Eagles began the week at 6.5-point favorites but that number was down to 4.5 by the end of the week, according to PointsBet.
The most surprising thing here, that our own Michael Gatti pointed out, is that the Eagles are 0-11 against the spread vs. the Bengals dating back to 1978. And they’re just 3-7-1 straight up during that span against Cincinnati. The Eagles haven’t beaten the Bengals since 2000, going 0-3-1 since. Good thing the Eagles don’t face the Bengals more often.