As J.J. McCarthy continues to rehab his bad ankle, Vikings QB Carson Wentz has officially been named the starter ahead of their Week 7 NFC showdown against the reigning, defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. These are the same Eagles that, since Wentz was the best player in the NFL in 2017 before an ACL tear for those ascending birds, have been to three Super Bowls and won two under the lead of Nick Foles and current starter Jalen Hurts.
Imagine, you are the best player in the sport and the leading NFL MVP candidate in your second year leading your team most of the way to the #1 seed in the NFC and looking like the best team in the league, only to have your season ended by diving into the end zone for the love and success of your team in a late-season matchup to try and get that much closer to that top seed in the conference.
And even though your season was ended and you were the top dog, your backup comes in and leads the team the rest of the way for one of the more improbable runs to a Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady and the Patriots dynasty.
Carson Wentz obviously hasn’t been the same since Nick Foles earned a statue outside of Lincoln Financial Field. Since his tenure in Philadelphia ended in 2020 in a mutual breakup, Wentz has played for five other teams: the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, and now, our beloved Minnesota Vikings.
While Carson Wentz has struggled to find a stable place to call home, the Philadelphia Eagles have been constant contenders, and of course, have won an additional Super Bowl since the last time Wentz was employed by the Eagles. This is why he can give all of the politically correct QB word salad he wants; he knows that this game is a bit different than any other mid-season matchup.
Carson Wentz talked to reporters on Wednesday before he was officially named the starter on Friday:
I approach it the same. I prepare, go through my routine, go through my, so to speak, program of how I watch film, how I study the plays, how I get ready, what I do later in the week, how I take care of my body. That doesn’t really change. So that’s the beauty of it. Quite frankly, having done both roles in my career so far, I have what works for me and what gets me ready to play, and that’s what I’ll be doing.
Yes, your preparation can remain the same to a point, but the old days of the Eagles and his demoralizing end in Philadelphia absolutely remain in the back of his head. When he lines up on Sunday against the most notable of his former teams, the heydays of his MVP-caliber season before its brutal end will surely ring through his head.
