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Monday marks the one-year anniversary of Carson Wentz’s multi-ligament knee injury, suffered inside the Los Angeles Coliseum on a goal-line scramble against the Rams. Wentz returns to the Coliseum on Sunday. When Eagles-Rams originally appeared on the schedule, it looked like not just a heavyweight rematch but also a chance for Wentz to bring his story full circle. What better way to cap the comeback than by outdueling Jared Goff on the very field that the injury occurred, en route to a postseason push that Wentz would lead this time around? The 2018 Eagles season has not followed that neat, little script, though. Same for Wentz’s year. Philly is 6-7 following Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys and has just an 8.9 percent chance of making the playoffs. There have been only 10 defending Super Bowl champs who finished the following year with a non-winning record (none since the 2013 Ravens). A loss in L.A. and Philly becomes the 11th.  It’s hard to say exactly how much of that should be placed at the feet of Wentz. He is coming off a major injury that sidelined him until Week 3, after all, and didn’t have the benefit of a full offseason to reintegrate. Injuries hit running back and the offensive line pretty good. And the coaching has not done the offense many favors, with the game plan falling flat more times than not.
Still, Wentz is considered a star, and stars are expected to rise above the adversity and lift their teams with them, no matter how hard they scream and kick. And the offense’s problems mirror Wentz’s problems. The Eagles have failed to score in the first quarter in 10 of their 13 games. Wentz has a 62 percent completion rate with three TDs, three interceptions and a 77 quarterback rating in the opening quarter this season, compared with a 72 completion rate with 18 TDs, four picks and a 108 QB rating the rest of the way. Third-down efficiency is down and scoring has dropped off by a touchdown on average compared to 2017. Wentz’s numbers reflect that as well. There have been times when Wentz has looked like his old self, driving defenses crazy with his athleticism and confidently rocketing accurate passes all over the field. Other times, he has been off the mark and a quarter-beat slow to recognize pressure or get the ball out. He’s looked mortal, in other words, and understandably so. Expectations were high because Wentz has shown during his brief career that he is capable of the amazing. The deck was stacked to a degree, yes, but there wasn’t a building this man couldn’t leap last season. The reality that’s setting in is that this week’s return to the Coliseum isn’t bringing the story full circle because the comeback is still a ways from being complete. Wentz hasn’t returned to full form, and likely won’t until next season at the earliest.
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