The date is February 4, 2018, and the Philadelphia Eagles are being showered by confetti as they’ve just defeated the New England Patriots to win their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
A back-and-forth affair in an exciting contest between, perhaps the greatest quarterback of all time, and *checks notes* — Nick Foles?
Foles took over for the injured Carson Wentz (torn ACL) during the 2017 season and led the Eagles on an incredible run — that also featured a play that will never be forgotten in Super Bowl lore: “You want Philly Philly?”
Is Carson Wentz the Quarterback of the Future in Philly?
While many remember the end result, let’s not forget Wentz’s MVP-like status that season throwing for 33 touchdowns and 3,296 yards en route to the number one seed in the NFC before having his season end against the Los Angeles Rams.
Following their championship season, head coach Doug Pederson knew he had a quarterback competition brewing between Foles and Wentz.
One just delivered the franchise’s first Super Bowl win and one is the clear focus for years to come.
However, fast-forward to the start of the 2018 season and Wentz was named the guy to lead them back to the promised land — once he fully recovered from his injury.
Pederson and the Eagles would turn to Foles in hopes of capitalizing on their newfound success in 2018. And success he delivered, going 4-1 before Wentz’s return.
The Eagles are fully committed to Wentz as their quarterback of the future and seemed to look apparent after Wentz’s return during the 2018 season. But the one knock on his early career has been his health.
A torn ACL in 2017 and a fractured back in 2018 has cost Wentz a full season since his rookie season.
And, yet again, Philadelphia would turn to Foles that saw them survive a Wild Card game in Chicago and heartbreak defeat in New Orleans.
Once again, Philadelphia found themselves in another situation on deciding the fate of two franchise quarterbacks. However, this time, Philly went all in on Wentz with a lucrative four-year contract extension worth $128 million and $107 million guaranteed.
The new deal given to Wentz will no doubt set the bar for other young franchise quarterbacks coming off successful seasons.
The field was already set for Wentz on offense having weapons such as Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, and a returning DeSean Jackson. In addition, ProFootball Focus ranked Philadelphia’s offensive line fifth-best across the NFL.
So, the offensive side of the ball for Wentz and company has extreme upside. But, the question every Eagles fan will ask is can he stay healthy?
We just witnessed top-dollar quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan combine for zero playoff wins this past season — because they didn’t even qualify.
Only Russell Wilson — who was the previously most-paid quarterback — qualified for the playoffs last season from the group of quarterbacks to get paid a pretty penny.
On paper, it’s easy to see why Philadelphia went with Wentz. Just by looking at the NFC East, you have Eli Manning who will be out the door at some point, Washington has no idea what they have at quarterback and there’s the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas is the only other team in this division that has solidified their position at quarterback with Dak Prescott.
Playing at Lincoln Financial Field has also produced a 15-5 record for Wentz and also proved masterful for Foles winning both playoff games there. In addition, during his young career, Wentz has produced nine game-winning drives in his three years. However, six of those came in his rookie year, two in his sophomore year and just one in year three.
Wentz will have to produce in 2019 to prove that he’s worth every cent of his contract, stay healthy and win in the playoffs. The NFL is a make-or-break deal for young quarterbacks that needs to be fulfilled every season. Wentz is no doubt a franchise quarterback, but Philly needs him for the long haul.
Because if he doesn’t and Foles goes on to have a successful career with Jacksonville, then you’re stuck playing the what-if game.
Which, if history has taught us anything, can linger for a long, long time.
