Extra shove? Nah, Wentz says he was playing through the whistle

Share

Dontae Johnson seemed a little surprised. 

In the second quarter on Sunday night, the 49ers cornerback lined up across from Carson Wentz, who was out wide as Jalen Hurts took a snap in shotgun. 

On the play, Wentz blocked Johnson as the run went to the other side of the field. After several seconds of blocking, as Johnson slowly walked toward Wentz, Wentz gave him an extra little shove. 

Johnson threw up his hands as if to say, “Hey, I wasn’t hitting the quarterback.” 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF94-DZlNW8

On Wednesday I had a chance to ask Wentz two questions: 

1. What is your mindset on those plays? 

2. What was that extra little shove? 

“Every time I’m asked to do something different out there,” Wentz said on Wednesday. “I never knew if the ball was coming my way so I was going to give it my all and block my tail off on that one. 

“As far as an extra shove, there was no whistle. So I was just blocking to the whistle. That’s what you’re coached to do ever since you’re in little kid football. Play to the whistle and that’s what I was doing.”

That was Wentz’s sixth time this season lining up as a wide receiver. He has done it three times in each of the last two weeks. 

Wentz is 6-foot-5, 250 pounds and on this play he was blocking a 200-pound corner. Sometimes in situations where a team puts their quarterback elsewhere on the field, opposing defenses will opportunistically try to hit them. 

But on this play, Wentz was the more physical player. And he’s right … the whistle hadn’t blown as Miles Sanders scampered the other way for nine yards. 

Contact Us