Carson Wentz will play his second straight game for the Minnesota Vikings in the Week 2 game against the Chicago Bears. The veteran QB will look to replicate his Week 1 performance against the Green Bay Packers.
After Kyler Murray suffered a concussion in the first quarter in the win over Green Bay, Wentz came off the bench and went 13-for-19 on his pass attempts for 133 passing yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 123.5 against the Packers.
Moreover, if Wentz helps the Vikings get off to a 2-0 start, the question will be whether he should be QB1. For former NFL players Emmanuel Acho and LeSean McCoy, the veteran signal-caller has a good opportunity to take the starting job from Murray.
“Kyler’s best and Wentz’s best: Wentz’s got a better ceiling than Kyler Murray,” Acho said in a Sept. 17 video from Speakeasy’s YouTube channel. “Let’s make no mistake about it and as bad as Wentz has been, Wentz has a higher floor than Kyler Murray. Wentz’s got a higher ceiling and a higher floor. People think Wentz was terrible with the Colts. Wentz was all right. I can show you awful, because when Kyler Murray’s awful, the Cardinals win three games.
“When Kyler Murray’s awful, he has more interceptions than he can find his best receivers. Wentz has had some bad years. Make no mistake about it. At least he’s like a .500 quarterback. This dude Kyler Murray has like one winning season as a starter. So I think Carson Wentz can steal the starting job if he continues to play like this.”
LeSean McCoy Doesn’t Hold Back on Kyler Murray
Furthermore, McCoy backs Wentz taking the starting job from Murray, especially if the veteran can get Minnesota to a 2-0 start.
“I always said that I didn’t think [Murray] would finish the season as a starter anyway,” McCoy added. “They’re not paying him big money. He’s on a try-it type of deal and to be honest, if you look at him in his whole career, he has really great flashes and has tons of bad moments. Yeah, he is not a starting quarterback in the NFL.”
Ex-Vikings Wideout Believes Kyler Murray Will Remain QB1
While Acho and McCoy believe Wentz can take the starting job, former Vikings wideout Adam Thielen believes that Murray will at least be the starter once he’s ready to go from his concussion.
“I think they made that decision in training camp,” Thielen said in a Sept. 17 appearance on 104.3 The Score in Chicago. “They chose Kyler Murray to be their starter, and there are multiple reasons for that. And I’m not in those meetings every day or at every practice, but from my perspective, I think it gives you a wider playbook.
“A guy who can still play on time and do all the things they want to do, but when the reads aren’t there, instead of taking a sack or throwing the ball away, he can just go move a little bit and sometimes it’s not a first down.”
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