Donovan McNabb joined Farzetta & Tra in the mornings on Monday at 9:30 as he does every week & is feeling the Eagles optimism in the air… mostly because of Carson Wentz & Doug Pederson
There’s an internal battle with most Eagles fans right now because the team & Carson have looked much improved over the past month but you still see former practice squad players all over the roster which makes it difficult to believe that “on paper” that this team can beat any playoff team. But here they are, winners of their last 4 games with Carson Wentz playing the best football he has of the season right now. They’ve played their best football of the season with their backs against the wall. There’s no more “back against the wall” situation than a home playoff game, currently as underdogs no less. Carson Wentz is the biggest reason for optimism, even from the QB who’s passing record Wentz just eclipsed…
Carson’s really has carried this team on his back over the month of December with key contributors in Ertz, Goedert, Ward, Sanders & Scott *(check this stat out: All 34 points the Eagles scored Sunday were by former practice squad players: Boston Scott (3 TDs) and Josh Perkins (TD) were on the Eagles’ practice squad earlier this year, and the Eagles signed Jake Elliott (2 FG, 4 PATs) off the Bengals’ practice squad)* really stepping into key roles for this team but it ultimately comes down to Doug & Carson getting the in the best situations for this offense to thrive. The key to all of it might be the sheer lack of turnovers. We all know Carson’s fumbling issue, it hasn’t really reared it’s head over the last 4 weeks but the incredibly low interception rate Wentz has shown Donovan believes is a huge reason for their recent success. In playoff atmospheres, turnovers can be back breakers & Carson’s most impressive feat lately is not turning the ball over. To put his interception rate in a historical context, here’s another great stat for you: In the history of NFL there’s only been 4 QB’s to have 600 or more attempts and 7 or fewer interceptions: Tom Brady, 2015 Aaron Rodgers, 2016 Matt Ryan, 2018 Carson Wentz, 2019. That’s some good company to keep.
Marc asked Donovan what advice he would give to Carson who is heading into his first ever playoff game on Sunday & here’s what Donovan would tell Carson…
Not sure if you’ve ever heard this before, but Sunday will be the biggest game of Carson Wentz’s career & luckily for the Eagles & their fans, Wentz just happens to be playing some of his best football. Sunday at 4:40PM, Lincoln Financial Field will be rocking & hopefully to quote Jeffrey Lurie, the “North Dakota kid will be slinging it”. Go Birds.
If you missed the interview, you can check out the podcast right here!