5 reasons Carson Wentz’s Week 1 performance wasn’t a fluke

Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz looked great in his first career start. Here are five reasons Wentz’s Week 1 performance wasn’t a fluke.

In a Week 1 battle between two of worst perceived teams in football, the Philadelphia Eagles were able to clip the Cleveland Browns at home on Sunday, 29-10. While Cleveland looked atrocious on Sunday, the biggest takeaway from this Week 1 game was the play of Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.

Philadelphia traded up with Cleveland to take Wentz at No. 2 overall out of North Dakota State in the 2016 NFL Draft. Wentz has the build of a franchise quarterback, but an injury-riddled senior season at FCS North Dakota State had many question if he was ever going to live up to the hype.

Wentz was thrust into the starting job Week 1 after the Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings. With great poise, Wentz completed 22 of 37 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns in his first professional start.

Philadelphia might have something special under center in Wentz. Here are five reasons Wentz’s Week 1 performance was no fluke and a sign of more good things to come with Eagles football.

5. Wentz beat a bad Browns team at home

Yes, the Browns are probably the worst team in football, but the Eagles were still able to beat a bad football team at home in Week 1. The first step for a franchise quarterback to prove his worth is to win the games at home he should. Clobbering Cleveland in Week 1 certainly qualifies for Wentz.

This wasn’t a game where Philadelphia scraped by. The Eagles beat the Browns senseless by 19 points in Week 1. The first week of the 2016 NFL season was noted as being one of the most exciting in recent memory. This had to do with there being so many games being decided by one score. Philadelphia trouncing Cleveland was not one of them.

Let’s not forget that playing quarterback for Philadelphia isn’t easy to begin with. It’s a cold-weather, outdoor stadium in a city with a fan base that boos its first round draft picks. No crowd will turn on a player faster than the Eagles faithful. Wentz’s NFL career is off to a better start than Donovan McNabb’s at this same juncture.

Cleveland does have it issues, but there were a lot of less than ideal circumstances surrounding the Eagles, too. A pitiful performance at home in Week 1 by Wentz would have had the Philadelphia media destroy him on Monday. Instead he played well and looks like a candidate to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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