The Eagles were driving.
Carson Wentz gathered the 10 other guys in the huddle, got them on the same page, and they were driving. With a rookie right guard and the fourth option at right tackle, they were driving. After losing their most dynamic play-maker and a couple of long-snappers, they were driving.
And after their defense gave up a leaky 25-yard touchdown run just seconds before to lose the lead, Wentz and the Eagles were driving down the field with a chance to erase all the mistakes and misfortunes that were thrown their way on Sunday.
But they couldn’t. They didn’t.
Ryan Kerrigan, who had no problem streaking past fourth-option Matt Tobin at right tackle with 21 seconds left, sacked Wentz. Wentz fumbled. The Eagles lost to Washington 27-22 on Sunday and have now lost four straight and eight of their last 10 (see Instant Replay).
“It's tough,” said Wentz, who admitted it’s tougher losing when he and the offense are on the field with a chance to win it. “In games like this, you just think of those couple plays, had they gone differently the outcome could have been different. We have had a lot of games like that this season. And it's frustrating, but at the same time, we just have to keep learning from it and keep growing as a team.”
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After an early red-zone interception, Wentz has a pretty nice game (see breakdown of Wentz's day).
Wentz completed 32 of 46 pass attempts for 314 yards and a touchdown to go with that INT. He had a passer rating of 86.7.
“I thought he competed like no other, man,” Nelson Agholor said of Wentz. “I love my quarterback and I love the way he competes.”
And Wentz did it all behind an offensive line that was held together by scotch tape and bubble gum. Brandon Brooks was out with an illness again, so rookie Isaac Seumalo played right guard. Then Allen Barbre went down during the game, which forced Matt Tobin into action. Wentz was hit 10 times and sacked four times.
All of that led to head coach Doug Pederson’s saying that Sunday was probably Wentz’s best game of the season (see 10 observations).
“He came out and proved today that this is why we drafted him,” Pederson said. “This is why we drafted him high to be our guy. He really stood in there, did a nice job today.”
That didn’t do much to satisfy the rookie after the game.
Did Wentz think it was his best game of the year?
“Hard to say. We lost,” Wentz said. “That's what really matters. We lost. We didn't finish at the end. Kind of like when we played them last time. We had a chance the finish the game and win it on offense and we didn't do that. And that's really all that matters.”
Wentz and the Eagles got close on Sunday afternoon at the Linc – 14 yards away to be exact. After Chris Thompson scored on a 25-yard run, the Eagles’ offense got back on the field with 1:53 left in the game at their own 25 (see standout plays).
The drive started well. Wentz hit Jordan Matthews for 16 yards, Trey Burton for 16, Matthews again for 12, Ertz for 13. The Eagles got all the way to the Washington 14-yard line before Kerrigan’s strip sack on 2nd-and-10.
“We just have to do better. It's tough,” left tackle Jason Peters said. “We're 14 yards away from winning. And we wouldn't even be bringing up the stuff that went wrong. We just have to stick together and finish it.”
Sunday wasn’t the first time the Eagles had a late-game drive with a chance to win or tie a game. They’ve been in similar situations against the Cowboys, Giants, Lions and Washington the first time. Sure, the Eagles came back against Atlanta but it wasn’t on one final drive.
In those one-last-drive situations, the Eagles have come up short all season, but Wentz claims his confidence is still high in those situations.
“Without a doubt,” Wentz said. “Yeah, I mean I am just a confident, optimistic person. And I think the team is as well. I think whatever the outcome in the past, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. We are just always going forward. We didn't get it done today.”
