This past season in the NFL was one of the most injury-plagued seasons in recent memory. It seemed like every week a new star was going down for the entirety of the year. Perhaps the two biggest victims of the injury bug were Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. Both players were in the midst of extremely impressive seasons. After they proved themselves solid starters and highly capable players, the question is, which one will be looking at a bigger comeback season?
Carson Wentz or Deshaun Watson: Bigger Comeback Season
The Case For Deshaun Watson
Watson was well on his way to a dominant Offensive Rookie of the Year-caliber season. Watson’s final game of the season was likely his best, throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks. However, he tragically tore his ACL during practice, prematurely ending his season.
Watson had accumulated 21 total touchdowns and nearly 2000 all-purpose yards in only seven games. With the return of team anchor J.J. Watt along with once again pairing up with top league receiver Deandre Hopkins, the second year QB should be looking at another fantastic year. Watson dealt with similar injuries in college, where he tore his ACL just like he did in the NFL. Obviously this did not tank Watson’s career, as he later went on to beat Alabama in the National Championship and then have a very successful rookie year in the NFL.
The Case For Carson Wentz
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz all but destroyed the “sophomore slump” which has become all too common for second-year players. Wentz played nearly double the games than Watson did before he went down, so the shape of the season he was having was much more defined than that of Watson’s. When he went down, Wentz had amassed nearly 3,300 yards and 33 touchdowns. With the road that he was going down, he most likely would have surpassed 4,000 yards and 40+ touchdowns that season, and likely would have won NFL MVP.
Wentz also has a better team around him than Watson. While Watson’s injury effectively ended Houston’s season, the Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LII without Wentz. With Wentz back in the lineup, Philadelphia should be even more dangerous. However, unlike Watson, Wentz has never had to deal with an injury like this before. It will be interesting to see if he has the ability to successfully bounce back from such a catastrophic injury.
The Final Verdict
While Watson has an extremely bright career ahead of him, Wentz most certainly has the best chance at a successful comeback season. He has a much better team around him, and at this point in his career, is just the better quarterback. Not to say that Watson will not also have a good comeback season, but it is pretty easy to see that Wentz is looking to replicate the success that he had last season before his injury.
