As the Philadelphia Eagles attempt to stop a two-game losing streak, there is a bit of a mystery at the quarterback position. While Jalen Hurts remains fully healthy for Philly, the Eagles will be taking on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7, who have a far less clear quarterback situation. John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia pointed this out, noting that J.J. McCarthy is expected to rejoin practice this week while backup Carson Wentz is currently dealing with a shoulder injury. It is extremely unclear who the Eagles will be matched up against this week.
However, the quarterback in many ways won't matter much with the holes in Philly's secondary being the biggest concern. Facing Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison creates a sense of urgency for the Eagles to find answers. While neither quarterback presents a particularly frightening matchup, either player has proven themselves capable of making plays against the right defense. Driving home the need for a struggling unit to patch obvious holes in the secondary and create a consistent pass rush. Bringing us to which player Philly fans should prefer.
Eagles' Defense Forced to Prepare for Both Wentz and McCarthy in Week 7
Wentz has had an up-and-down career that Eagles fans are all too well aware of. However, there is a potential revenge game scenario at play here, as well as the freedom to play without fear. Wentz is only in the lineup for a short time to help get the second-year quarterback healthy. This removes a lot of the pressure and expectations of playing the position. With this in mind, fans should be hoping that McCarthy can return to the lineup.
The last time the Michigan product started was against an Atlanta Falcons defense that had the quarterback looking out of place. McCarthy turned the ball over and consistently took sacks, unable to get the ball out in time. Atlanta's secondary is far from one of the league's most intimidating, but it still had no issue shutting down the quarterback.
With this in mind, it is easy to make a compelling argument that the Eagles should want to face McCarthy in hopes of keeping the quarterback on edge and rattling him early, just as the Falcons demonstrated. The flip side of this is that it would only be the quarterback's third career start. There is still a significant level of unknown concerning the signal caller. Regardless, the Eagles must get back on track, beating either quarterback and steadying an increasingly concerned fan base heading into a pivotal Week 7.