In the shadow of Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, Carson Wentz has fought his way back and is following up on past performances that many experts no longer believed he could achieve.

Munich – 2017, December 10. Four minutes left in the third quarter of the Philadelphia Eagles’ game against the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles with MVP candidate Carson Wentz are three yards from the end zone. The next touchdown is on the line! Snap… Wentz goes through his options but can’t find a pickup, runs himself and gets tackled by two Rams players as he leaps into the end zone.

Injuries set Wentz back

At that moment, what had been a very good season for the Philadelphia Eagles up to that point should have been over. We’ll come back to this. Carson Wentz tears his ACL on this play. Up to this point, the now 28-year-old was one of the favourites for the MVP title. In 13 games he put up fantastic statistics. 3,296 yards, 33 touchdowns, only seven interceptions and a completion percentage of 60.2 percent speak for themselves! As a reminder, it was only his second NFL season.

He never really recovered from his injury, and only in the 2019 season was he able to halfway match his old performance and lead the Eagles into the playoffs. There they lost to the Seattle Seahawks, partly because Wentz had to leave the game after only nine snaps with a concussion.

In March of this year, the former No. 2 pick was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, where he met his former offensive coordinator. Frank Reich had become the Colts’ head coach in 2018. Wentz experienced his best time under him. So the plan was clear: get Wentz back on track!

“This is the guy I know from Philadelphia. “

After seven days of play, it’s worth drawing a small interim conclusion. And this turns out to be quite positive! Wentz is looking more and more like the player he was before his cruciate ligament rupture in 2017. One should bear in mind that Wentz also had to get used to his new team first. His coach also praises the resurgent quarterback: “That’s the guy I know from Philadelphia. He can be a big-play machine.”

Eleven touchdowns are matched by only one interception. The fewest of any quarterback who has been on the field every game for his team. Add to 1,695 yards thrown 97 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Only the Colts’ record doesn’t look quite as good at first glance. Before week eight, the Indianapolis franchise is 3-4.

Those responsible had certainly hoped for a better start to the season. But: The games against the Rams and Ravens were narrowly lost and could have been won if one or two plays had gone differently. Against the Ravens, the Colts failed to overcome a 19-point lead.

If Wentz can maintain his current performance, the playoffs are a distinct possibility for the Indianapolis Colts. And anything is possible in the playoffs! Carson Wentz knows that too! Because the season was by no means over for the Eagles after his injury. Nick Foles came onto the field for him in that game in December 2017 and led the Eagles not only to victory against the Rams, but to the Super Bowl. There, “Philly” shocked the football world and won against the New England Patriots and Tom Brady.