Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles are off to a hot start, putting him into consideration for the MVP award. Creative Commons Image: Keith Allison on Flickr.
By Sam Fortenbaugh
Carson Wentz, the Philadelphia Eagles’ second year starter out of North Dakota State, is off to a red hot start during the first nine weeks of the NFL regular season. I believe he will win the NFL Most Valuable Player award for three main reasons: his leadership, statistics, and his team’s success.
Wentz has the innate ability to lead a football team. When you watch him play, he always keeps his composure and never gets too excited or too down. No matter the circumstances they are in, he always maintains a positive attitude; for example, when he has thrown interceptions in the past, he watches the film and prepares on what he has to do next rather than sulking on the sideline. As the starting quarterback, all eyes turn to him when they face adversity on the field. While recognizing this, Wentz rallies his team by keeping constant communication with the team.
In addition to Wentz’s leadership skills, he has put up some of the best statistics in the National Football League throughout the first eight weeks. He has a 61% completion percentage and has thrown for 2,262 yards. Wentz is also tied for the most passing touchdowns, with 23, in the league. However, he has struggled with turnovers, as he has five interceptions and four fumbles. Wentz’s passer rating is strong at 104.1 respectively. Along with his air attack, Wentz has had some impressive runs this year. Not known as a dual-threat quarterback, Wentz is big, athletic, and fast, so he possesses the ability to take off when he finds it appropriate. He has run for 203 yards on 42 attempts this year, averaging an impressive 4.8 yards per carry.
Wentz’s team also has the best record in the National Football League of 8-1. The NFL MVP is usually measured by how well his team is performing, and currently, the Eagles are looking like the best team in the National Football League. Their one loss of the season came against the Kansas City Chiefs, who are 5-3, on the road, where they lost by seven points. The team lost their starting left tackle and linebacker, so Wentz will have to continue to shine if they want to keep up their success.
All in all, Carson Wentz is looking like the The National Football League’s most valuable player at about half way through the season. But there are many other potential candidates for the award having fantastic years like Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs and Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams, so Wentz will have to keep up the stellar play to win the award.
