<
>

Eagles, Carson Wentz's stock free-falling following troubling tie with Bengals

PHILADELPHIA -- It's officially time to be concerned about the Philadelphia Eagles and their leader, quarterback Carson Wentz.

Wentz made some plays late in regulation to force overtime but had his third shaky outing in as many starts in a 23-23 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Wentz completed 29-of-47 passes for 225 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, as the Eagles move to 0-2-1. Wentz now has six picks on the year -- one less than he had all of last season.

A microcosm of his struggles came late in the third quarter, as he failed to find a wide-open John Hightower on a rollout to his left, and followed that with a misplaced ball to Zach Ertz that resulted in his second turnover of the game. With that interception, Wentz became the first Eagles QB with multiple interceptions in three straight games since Ron Jaworski in 1985. That was the season the Eagles drafted Randall Cunningham in the second round, signaling the beginning of the end of Jaworski's time in Philadelphia.

The Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round in April and gave him his first snaps at quarterback Sunday, with mixed results.

Philadelphia is committed to Wentz, who signed a four-year, $128 million extension last summer. It's premature to think a changing of the guard is at hand. But there will be plenty of chatter about inserting Hurts this week, as a dismayed fan base searches for ways to save a season heading off a cliff.

Up next is a trip out West to play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).

Troubling trend: The injuries continue to pile up. The Eagles lost DeSean Jackson (hamstring), Dallas Goedert (ankle) and Avonte Maddox (ankle) Sunday. With Jalen Reagor sidelined with a UCL tear in his thumb, Wentz was down to the bottom of the depth chart at receiver, as he was for much of last season. Darius Slay (arm) left briefly but returned to the lineup.

Silver lining: The defensive line feasted on Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow to the tune of eight sacks and 18 QB hits. Fletcher Cox recorded his first sack of the season in overtime.

Buy a breakout performance: With the offense down multiple skill position players, Greg Ward led the way with eight catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Ward doesn't do anything flashy, but he's reliable and has earned Wentz's confidence.