Getty Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz appeared to receive some criticism from within his organization on October 10.
Quarterback Carson Wentz didn’t have much of a honeymoon with the Indianapolis Colts during the 2021 season. Now five weeks into the 2022 season, it appears Wentz’s honeymoon with the Washington Commanders is finished too.
When speaking to the media on October 10, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera appeared to throw his quarterback under the bus.
During a press conference, Rivera received a question about why the other teams in the NFC East have become competitive quicker than his team has.
The 12-year NFL head coach had a one-word answer as to why.
“Quarterback,” said Rivera with a pretty defiant stare.
That response garnered several follow up questions during the presser, including a statement from a reporter that the Dallas Cowboys have started backup quarterback Cooper Rush for four of the first five weeks.
Rivera needed more than one word to explain why he believes Rush has won more games than Wentz early this season.
“They started with Dak [Prescott], they build around Dak, and the offense is built around Dak,” Rivera said. “Their backup’s a guy who is very solid inside of what they do, and the truth is this is a quarterback-driven league.
“If you look at the teams that have been able to sustain success, they’ve been able to build it around a specific quarterback.”
Rivera Says He Has No Regrets Trading for Wentz
After that exchange, Rivera was asked if he regrets acquiring Wentz for a conditional 2023 third-round pick from the Colts (the teams also swapped 2022 second-rounders) this past offseason. At this point in the press conference, the Commanders head coach began to be a little more supportive of his starting signal caller.
“I got no regrets [about trading for Wentz]. I think our quarterback has done some good things. There have been a couple games where he’s struggled,” Rivera said. “But you look at his numbers from yesterday, and you say, ‘Ok’ … The way he performed yesterday, it just shows you what he’s capable of.
“We chose him because we believe in him. We chose him because we looked at what we felt were things that pointed towards him.”
Wentz tossed seven touchdowns in the first two games of the season, but he’s had as many interceptions as touchdowns in the three games since then (three each). He threw an pick at the Tennessee Titans 2-yard line while trailing by four with nine seconds remaining in the fourth quarter during Week 5.
The loss dropped the Commanders to 1-4 this season.
Through five games, Wentz has completed 62.9% of his passes for 1,390 yards. He’s averaging 6.6 yards per pass. Wentz has also taken 20.0 sacks, which is among the leaders for starting quarterbacks in the league.
But similar to what Matt Ryan has dealt with in Indianapolis this season, Wentz is playing behind an offensive line that’s really struggling. The Commanders are dealing with injuries at both guards spots. Pro Football Focus has graded the Washington offensive line in the bottom half of the league in both run and pass blocking.
Tracking Wentz’s Snap Count for Commanders
It’s probably safe to say Colts fans aren’t rooting for Wentz to do extremely well with the Commanders. But they probably don’t want him to completely fail either.
That’s because the third-round pick the Colts received for Wentz will become a second-rounder if Wentz plays 70% of Washington’s offensive snaps this season.
Wentz has played all 365 of Washington’s snaps on offense through five games. There’s still 12 contests remaining this season, but despite Rivera appearing to throw Wentz under the bus on October 10, there doesn’t seem to be a discussion of benching the 29-year-old quarterback.
He’s also still healthy even with the beating he’s taken at times this season. After Week 6, Wentz will be approximately halfway to playing 70% of Washington’s offensive snaps this season.
Hopefully for the Colts, Rivera’s apparent disapproval of Wentz doesn’t grow too much over the next couple months.