Football is back.
And so begins the Carson Wentz era.
The rookie quarterback will make his first NFL start when the Eagles open the 2016 regular season Sunday afternoon against the Browns at Lincoln Financial Field (see scouting report).
Which means it's time for our (cough) expert predictions on the Eagles' Week 1 matchup:
Reuben Frank
There aren't a lot of teams I'd pick the Eagles to beat in the NFL debut of a quarterback who started 23 games at the FCS level, played in only one preseason game a month ago, missed a few weeks of the preseason with broken ribs and got no practice time with the first-team receivers until five days ago.
But the Browns are world-class bad, and this is a game the Eagles can win just by avoiding major mistakes, playing sound defense and running the ball. You don't need Carson Wentz to be a superstar to beat the Browns. You just need him to hand off to Ryan Mathews and Kenjon Barner, complete a few passes against a young and inexperienced defense and watch the Eagles' defense dominate the game.
The only thing that scares me a little is a healthy RG3. He's always played well against the Eagles. But I expect the Eagles' defensive line to dominate this game and dominate RG3 as the Eagles open the Doug Pederson era with an easy win.
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Eagles 28, Browns 13
Dave Zangaro
This isn't the slam dunk it once was. If Sam Bradford was still the starting quarterback of the Eagles, I wouldn't have to think about this. Of course they'd beat the Browns. I mean, they're the Browns. But things have obviously changed in the last week. No matter how good anyone thinks Carson Wentz will be in this league, this is his first start after entering last week as the third-stringer. He's not as good as Bradford right now and doesn't give the Eagles the same chance to win.
With all that said, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Eagles lose this game. I just don't think it's going to happen. They're still playing the Browns, who should still be one of the worst teams in football. And the Eagles will be able to do enough on defense and special teams to win Doug Pederson's and Carson Wentz's first games in the NFL. If they don't, it could be a long season.
Eagles 17, Browns 13
Derrick Gunn
Howie Roseman has kept us entertained and intrigued this entire offseason. From maneuvering up the first-round draft board to get what the organization is hoping will be the franchise quarterback of the future to where we've arrived now: Carson Wentz taking the field Sunday as the starting quarterback of the Eagles. Throw in other pieces to the equation by way of free agency and the draft, and the Eagles feel they have a squad that can compete now, but does competing equate to more wins than losses?
The first of many tests to come is the Cleveland Browns, a team under the new direction of head coach Hue Jackson, who has rebuilt his roster from the ground up. Jackson, one of the best offensive minds in the game, is putting his trust in Robert Griffin III to lead his offense to respectability.
Jackson's defensive coordinator is Ray Horton. If you know one thing about Horton, it’s that his defenses will get after quarterbacks. It's what he did as a coordinator in Arizona, Cleveland (2013) and Tennessee. He will try to make Wentz as uncomfortable as possible with a variety of blitzing schemes.
Jim Schwartz will attempt to rattle RG3 with constant pressure from his four-man front.
Both the Browns and Eagles are looking to establish a new identity. I don't know if the Eagles’ offense is good enough to average 23 points a game, but it should be just good enough to beat a young Cleveland squad.
Eagles 23, Browns 13
Ray Didinger
All eyes will be on Carson Wentz this Sunday which is understandable. But he can't be expected to win this game alone and he won't. Doug Pederson and Frank Reich have to call a smart game and the other players have to rally around the rookie. I expect the coaches to call a very conservative game with a heavy emphasis on the run, so Ryan Mathews may turn out to be the key to the game, even more than Wentz.
Hue Jackson is a good coach but he doesn't have much to work with in Cleveland.
In what figures to be a low scoring and probably ugly game, I look for the Eagles to come out on top.
Eagles 17, Browns 13
Andrew Kulp
Even with Carson Wentz making his first start, the Eagles' offense should have little trouble moving the ball up and down the field on an outmanned Browns defense. There will be room for Ryan Mathews to run against a unit that ranked 30th in the NFL on the ground last season, while Zach Ertz can find soft spots in Cleveland's coverage over the middle.
Where the Eagles may run into some problems with a rookie quarterback is inside the red zone, but as long as Wentz can keep turnovers to a minimum, defense and special teams should take care of the rest. The Browns are starting two rookie wide receivers, and while Robert Griffin III will try to push the ball deep, he often holds on to the football too long. Behind a porous offensive line, that's likely to get RG3 into some trouble against an aggressive Eagles pass rush.
Eagles 26, Browns 13
Corey Seidman
The over/under for this game is 41. I'd be surprised if either team gets to 20 points, but it could happen if there are costly red-zone turnovers.
I'm sensing a lot of field goals with both teams lacking weapons. Going to predict the Eagles score one touchdown, either a fade to Dorial Green-Beckham or a short run by Darren Sproles to punctuate a drive.
Eagles 19, Bengals 13
Andy Schwartz
This game will be an offensive struggle.
A rookie QB who spent much of the preseason recovering from broken ribs vs. a fifth-year QB who is trying to resurrect his career after a dramatic freefall from the NFL's summit.
To make matters worse, neither Carson Wentz nor Robert Griffin III have dynamic weapons around them.
The Eagles' defense should be dramatically improved, and it makes enough plays to give Wentz a victory in his debut.
Just not a pretty one.
Eagles 12, Browns 9
