Carson Wentz pronounced his confidence intact Wednesday coming off two of the worst games of his life.
Keeping it intact may be the next challenge.
“This business, this game, confidence can turn on people real quickly,” he said. “And for us, it’s going back to what you know. It’s believing in yourself. It’s the entire body of work ever since you were a kid and how you train, how you work, how you prepare. There’s going to be rough times, there’s going to be rough patches. But guys just gotta lean in. I think we have a really good group of guys in this locker room that lean in on each other and trust each other and encourage each other no matter what the outside world’s saying or feeling. We trust each other, we stay together and the confidence is still there and still sky high for this team.”
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The Eagles have to hope so because Wentz has been brutal so far this year, with an NFL-high four interceptions, a 58.8 percent completion percentage and the 2nd-lowest passer rating in the league.
Wentz has a losing record since tearing up his knee in L.A. in 2017, and the Eagles will try to avoid their first 0-3 start since 1999 – when Doug Pederson was their opening-day quarterback – when they face the 0-2 Bengals Sunday at the Linc.
“It’s ok to be frustrated, it’s ok to be kind of a little ticked off, but you watch the tape and you move on,” Wentz said. “So for me, it’s another week. It’s onto the next one and I’m as confident in myself and this team as I’ve ever been. I don’t waver and I don’t see this team and this locker room waver when we go through rough patches like this. We’re excited for another opportunity. We know 0-2 is not where we want to be and not where we envisioned being, but it’s a long season and we’re excited to get back to it.”
Wentz insists that once he watched tape of the Rams loss he forgot about it and moved on.
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If that’s true, he might be the only person in Philly who did.
“I think back to the entirety of my career and how I’ve bounced back from good games, bad games, it doesn’t matter, I try and just reset every week and just still be myself and not play tight or too loose either and just be myself and be aggressive and when I see something rip it,” he said. “Just trust my instincts. I’m not going to change anything drastically by any means. It’s just being smart. I’ll be just fine and we’ll take care of business.”
Although poor decision making has been Wentz’s biggest issue so far, he’s also just missing on an alarming number of throws.
His 58.8 completion percentage is 3rd-worst in the league and well below his career mark of 63.8 percent coming into the season.
“Some of it’s timing, some of it’s just trusting what I’m seeing, trusting myself, and physically just making the throw,” he said. “I’ll be fine. I’m not panicking. I’m not pressing on it, but there’s definitely some throws I want back. But they’re throws I can make and we’ll be better.”
Wentz does a good job insulating himself from outside criticism, and that’s probably a good thing in the wake of the Rams game.
He said all he’s concerned with right now is bouncing back Sunday.
As loud as it is, he's not hearing the noise.
“I don’t know what’s being said,” he said. “What people say or how they feel, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and this is how I’ve been my whole career. I don’t get worked up about what people say, write (or) feel. I’m confident in myself, confident in my team.
“Being 0-2 and statistically where I’m at with the turnovers and all those things, that’s all behind me. For me, it’s all about going forward and I don’t get too caught up or worked up about it. I’m confident in myself and confident in this team that we’ll get it going.”