Philadelphia Eagles’ Carson Wentz showing he can finish in close games

The main issue with last year’s Philadelphia Eagles team was the inability to finish in close games. Carson Wentz is looking to close on those chances.

It was last November, and the Philadelphia Eagles were up at the Meadowlands playing the New York Giants in what seemed to be a must-win game. It was first and ten at the Giants 17 as the clock ticked down. Carson Wentz had his offense 17 yards away from a win. Four plays and a failed fade route to Jordan Matthews later, and the Eagles walked off the field losers of yet another one-possession game.

Now fast forward to September 24, 2017. With 7:12 to play in the fourth quarter, the Giants had the Philadelphia Eagles on the ropes up 21-14. This time around the young signal caller did not panic. He marched the offense down the field and five plays later Corey Clement capped off a scoring drive with a 15-yard run.

Move ahead a bit to the Philadelphia Eagles very next drive; this time down three. Carson Wentz this time lead the Philadelphia Eagles on an eight-play drive in 2 minutes and 17 seconds that was capped off by what could have been the most clutch kick Jake Elliot ever made (that would soon change) to tie the game at 24.

Then Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles got one more shot, this time to win the game. With seven seconds left Carson Wentz fired a laser in traffic to Alshon Jeffery who somehow managed to get out of bounds and still have one second remaining. The rest as we know is obviously history.

The moral of the story is that this game, and especially those three sequences show just how much Carson Wentz has grown over the past year. Did Wentz put up flashy stats against the Giants? No, he ended the day going 21 of 31 for 176 yards and a touchdown. But, did he do what he needed to do to in clutch moments to help his team win? Absolutely.

Through three games, that has shown to be Carson Wentz biggest jump from year one to year two; making the plays when they are needed the most. Against Washington, Carson Wentz led the Philadelphia Eagles to a clutch field goal to put them up five with just under two minutes to play. That was enough for the Eagles defense to do what it had to do and pick up and win.

We all know what happened against the New York Giants. Carson Wentz showed in those three consecutive drives in the fourth quarter that when the Philadelphia Eagles need him the most, he can step up.

Games like Sunday`s are games that good teams with good quarterbacks win. Last season six of the Philadelphia Eagles losses were games where Carson Wentz had the chance to win the game, and he was unable to convert in any of them. This season the narrative looks to be different. Now, the Philadelphia Eagles are showing they have what it takes to win these games, and that alone can take them far.

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Carson Wentz is still far from a polished quarterback. Wentz still has plenty to improve upon. From deep ball accuracy to getting rid of the ball quicker. But, this season Carson Wentz is showing that he can put the team on his back when necessary and lead them in crucial situations. And that above all else is what can lead this Philadelphia Eagles team very far.