It certainly didn’t take Carson Wentz long to hit the rookie wall.
Wentz’s magical first three games with the Eagles are starting to look like an outlier, and Philadelphia’s playoff hopes are fading as quickly as the No. 2 overall pick’s performance level.
Wentz had another rough outing Sunday, throwing a season-high three interceptions in a 32-14 road loss to the Bengals that dropped the Birds to 5-7 and kept them alone in last place in the NFC East.
To be sure, Wentz is far from Philly’s only problem. The receiving corps is a joke, the offensive line is in flux and Jim Schwartz’s once-stout defense has become a sieve while forcing just two turnovers in the past three games combined.
That defense put Philly in a 26-0 hole early in the third quarter Sunday, and Wentz showed he isn’t capable — at least at this point in his career — of carrying the Eagles on his young shoulders.
Forced to throw because of the big early deficit and without leading rusher Ryan Mathews (ankle), Wentz ended up throwing a season-high 60 times — 13 more than in any game this season.
That was even more of a hopeless situation because Philly was also without leading receiver Jordan Matthews and facing one of the league’s most opportunistic secondaries. The result was predictable, and don’t be fooled by Wentz’s 308 passing yards that came mostly in garbage time.
Wentz has had to grow up fast, considering the Eagles went from planning on sitting the North Dakota State product the entire season before suddenly thrusting him into the starting job thanks to the Sam Bradford trade the week before the opener.
Wentz also set the bar for himself even higher by bolting out of the gate with three strong performances in a 3-0 start that had Eagles fans ready to throw him a parade.
Defenses have predictably adjusted to Wentz, and — combined with the Eagles’ awful collection of wideouts and a key NFL drug suspension for Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson — Wentz has withered.
After throwing five TDs without an interception in the first three games, Wentz has been a turnover machine in the past seven contests. Wentz has tossed just five TDs against 10 interceptions in that span, posting a 69.3 passer rating while Philly not-so-coincidentally has posted a 2-5 mark and fallen out of contention.
Wentz compiled a passer rating of 101.0 or better three times in the season’s first four games. He has yet to break 91.4 in any game since, and his 58.2 rating Sunday was his second worst of the season.
Even more troubling was that the Cincinnati game could have been much worse. The Bengals batted down an incomprehensible six passes and dropped at least three other would-be interceptions in addition to the three the Bengals ended up notching.
“You just can’t get down,” Wentz told Philly reporters after the game. “You’ve got to stay optimistic. Obviously the results are tough of late. We’re kind of on a skid. We’ve just got to lock in and we’ve got to be more disciplined.”
The list of Eagles who need to do that starts with Wentz himself.