Where Does Wentz Go From Here?

Yet his tenure in Indy has begun as inauspiciously as it ended in Philly; the Colts currently sit at 3-5, three games behind the Tennessee Titans who beat them in their house yesterday despite a 14-0 first quarter lead for the Colts. Watching the game it seemed like Carson Wentz did everything in his power to lose the game, culminating in a disastrous 2 yard interception return when in danger of taking a safety – throwing the ball away would have been a much wiser option. That gave the Titans 31-24 lead, but Wentz found the power to marshal a five play, 75 yard drive for Jonathan Taylor to rush and level the game. – alleviated by a terrible defensive pass interference by the Titans (more on that later).

In overtime, both teams went three and out on their opening drive. Wentz had the ball again, the opportunity to march downfield against a defense you have conquered the majority of the day – yet he throws another crucial interception in Indy territory, looking for Pittman but instead finding double coverage – a bad decision when you had the time to manoeuvre the ball down field. Four plays later and Randy Bullock nailed the game winning field goal, a big win for the Titans who showed resilience to stick around after a 14-0 deficit of their own making. Whilst Tannehill also suffered interceptions in the game, ultimately Wentz’s errors will linger longer in the memory.

Granted, the crucial moment is not on Wentz; the Colts D came up with a second interception by Tyquan Lewis who instead of kneeling, stumbled and the ball came loose and was recovered by original target TE Anthony Firsker. Next play, a sideline pass from Tannehill to AJ Brown was not properly tackled, leading to a 57 yard scamper for the wide receiver. All of a sudden we have a tied ball game, and Tannehill’s interception didn’t prove to be as costly as his counterpart.

Before the end of the first half, Wentz scrambled up middle and lost possession of the ball, it fortunately being recovered by Jonathan Taylor to maintain the drive. The field goal gave the Colts the halftime lead, but it was another example of Wentz’s lack of ball security; it was his third fumble of the season, and in his NFL career he has had 63 fumbles – 26 of which have been lost. Compare that to Tannehill, who has played four years more in the professional ranks and has just three more fumbles. Questions abound over Wentz’s ability to maintain drives if he cannot take care of the football.

Defensive pass interference calls on deep ball passes got Wentz out of trouble last week versus the Colts in the Bomb Cyclone of Santa Clara – and another gave them good field position to retake the lead this week; yet this tells us more of Wentz’s inability to throw the deep ball when required. Compare that to a similarly maligned QB in Jimmy Garoppolo, whose wonderful strike to Deebo Samuel near the end of the first half on Sunday contrasted with Wentz’s fortunes.