Constructive on Carson: Wentz has dominant first half in win over Bears

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

Following a blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles welcomed the 3-7 Chicago Bears to Lincoln Financial Field before a two-week trip to the West Coast.

Here are my in-game notes on Wentz's performance in his first matchup with fellow No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky:

First Quarter

Drive One

Wentz and the Eagles started their first drive on their 25-yard line after a touchback on the opening kickoff.
On the first play of the game, Wentz rolled to the right and hit former Chicago Bear Alshon Jeffery for a short gain.
On the following play, Wentz did a good job to hang in a collapsing pocket and find Zach Ertz. Ertz nearly dropped the ball, but did a good job to regain control just before going to the ground.
Following the first down, Wentz handed off to LeGarrette Blount for the first time of the day. He was rewarded with another first down, as Blount ran through an open lane for a 13-yard gain.
Wentz wasn't rewarded as much on the next two plays, as Blount ran for two consecutive losses, backing the Eagles into a third-and-13.
After a Lane Johnson false start pushed the Eagles into third-and-18, Wentz fired to Torrey Smith on a screen pass that went for a short gain. While a better pass probably wouldn't have led to a first down, Wentz did make a high throw to Smith. Throwing accurately on screen passes is something that he still needs to master.

Drive Two

After the Eagles defense forced a three-and-out, Wentz got the ball back on the Bears' 44 after Pat O'Donnell shanked a punt.
On the first play of the drive, Wentz put Ajayi in motion, and then went through his progressions. When no one opened up he fired to Ajayi, who had a short space to run, but he dropped the past.
After Ajayi got the ball for no gain on the following play, Wentz hit Ertz for a nine-yard gain, pushing it to fourth-and-one. Ajayi was able to run for a first down on fourth-and-short behind a gigantic offensive line.
Wentz then went back to his security blanket, Ertz, for a one-yard gain on play-action. Ertz made a great one-handed catch, but only gained two yards.
On second down, Prince Amukamara jumped Smith's route, breaking the ball up. Because the play was by the sideline, there probably wasn't much of a chance for him to intercept it. Still, it was a dangerous pass.
On third down, Wentz hit Jeffery for another first down after Kyle Fuller fell down. Because Fuller fell down, Jeffery had a wide-open lane to the endzone had he stayed in bounds after his catch. Unfortunately, his momentum carried him out of bounds.
Fortunately for the Eagles, the "tz connection" hooked up for a 17-yard touchdown. It was the seventh time this year that Wentz and Ertz have combined for a redzone touchdown.

.@cj_wentz, @ZERTZ_86 making it look easy.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/MvuaREYzwZ

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 26, 2017

Drive Three

Backed deep into their own territory, Wentz handed to Blount, who ran through another huge hole, again created by Stefen Wisniewski. Unfortunately, after rushing for 35-yards, Blount had the ball stripped by Adrian Amos and recovered by the Bears. You won't be able to get away with that in the next two games, and certainly not in the postseason.

Drive Four

After a holding penalty on Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Wentz and the Eagles started on their own 35 with a first-and-20.
After Blount chipped off six of those yards on first-down run, Wentz connected with Jeffery for a nine-yard gain on second down, which was the final play of the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Drive Four (continued)

On third-and-five, Wentz hit Jeffery on a back-shoulder throw for a first-down. Man, have these two clicked.
After a short run by Blount on first down, Wentz targeted Jeffery again, but Jeffery couldn't haul it in. He was held on the play, but it wasn't called.
On third-and-long, it appeared that Wentz was going to go down after three Bears defenders broke through into the backfield. Instead, he pulled a Tony Romo-esque spin towards the right – which was the opposite side that a screen pass was initially supposed to go for – and ran for the first down. That was an MVP type play.

Is this normal?#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/hUHjDxFDE7

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 26, 2017

On second-and-16, Wentz connected with Mack Hollins, but he was taken down immediately. The Bears did a good job early on of not allowing yards after the catch.
On third-and-12, Wentz threw the ball high to Hollins in the endzone, and he wasn't able to haul it in. Luckily, Hollins was held, giving the Eagles an automatic first down.
On the following play, Wentz hit Nelson Agholor for the first time, and he burst into the endzone for his sixth touchdown of the season.

Air Nelson#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/jxGHbaXcKj

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 26, 2017

Drive Five

After a tipped punt, the Eagles began their drive in Chicago territory.
On the first play of the fifth drive, Wentz faked a handoff to Blount, and then found Ertz again for a first down.
Wentz got good protection on the following first down, but the Bears had good coverage. So Wentz ran between Wisniewski and Jason Kelce for a six-yard gain. He did a good job of knowing when to say when, and slid after a short gain, rather than trying to fight for a few more yards.
After a short run from Blount on second down, Wentz was sacked on a bootleg on third-and-two. Jake Elliott connected on a field-goal after the Wentz sack, giving the Eagles a 17-0 lead.

Drive Six

On first-and-20, Blount ran for 22 yards, including a hurdle at the end of his run.
Following that run, Wentz made a nice pass to Brent Celek near the first-down marker, but Celek dropped it.
On second-down, Wentz threw one of the nicer deep balls that he has in his young career. Unfortunately, Agholor stumbled on his route and wasn't able to catch up to the pass. If he doesn't stumble, the throw led him perfectly and may have been a touchdown.
On fourth down, Wentz lined up, audibled out of a run play and pushed forward for a first down on a QB sneak.
Just prior to the two-minute warning, Wentz again connected with Ertz for a first down.
Two plays after that, Wentz spun out for a long first down run, but it was called back after a holding penalty on Vaitai.
On third-down, Wentz took a shot deep to Smith, placing perfect touch on the ball. Smith didn't catch it, but there was a defensive holding penalty, which allowed the drive to stay alive.
Corey Clement was active on much of this drive, serving as a nice change-of-pace from Blount and Ajayi.
After Wentz was unable to connect with Kenjon Barner on first down, he floated a perfect pass for Jeffery for a touchdown pass on the final relevant play of the first half.

.@cj_wentz with a strike to @TheWorldof_AJ.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/oc73VB9Q8d

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 26, 2017

Third Quarter

Drive Seven

To open the drive, Wentz targeted Jeffery on a slant, but the two weren't able to connect.
Two plays later, on third-and-five, Wentz hit Ajayi with a screen pass and he ran through a hole for a first down.
On the following play, the Eagles used Agholor as a decoy by putting him in motion. Instead of throwing to him, Clement leaked out of the backfield and Wentz hit him, allowing him to go for a 12-yard gain.
Two plays later, Wentz hit Smith for a five-yard gain. On third-down, Wentz found Smith close to the first down marker. Smith caught the ball, but got popped when he lowered his head attempting to push towards the first down marker. He did return.
On fourth-and-short, Pederson had the Eagles go for it again. Wentz spread Ajayi out to the right, then kept the ball on a QB sneak again. Again, he converted for a first down.
After a short gain by Ertz and a run from Blount, Wentz couldn't connect with Agholor on third down. Even if he had, it wouldn't have been enough for a first down.
On fourth-and-six, the Eagles went for it, rather than punting. This wasn't a wise decision, as Wentz nearly threw an interception.

Drive Eight

On second-and-10, Wentz tried to connect with Jeffery. The pass was too high, one that easily could have been intercepted. Even in games like this, you are reminded that Wentz is only in his second year.
On third down, Wentz hit Ertz over the middle for a 23-yard gain. He took a hit, but Ertz was wide open, so once he caught the ball over the middle, he had room to run.

Fourth Quarter

Drive Eight (continued)

To open the fourth quarter, Wentz hit Smith for a six-yard gain.
Wentz followed that up by faking to Ajayi on the next play, and hitting Ertz for another first down.
After the first down, Wentz handed to Ajayi, who burst threw for a long gain. Unfortunately for the Eagles, he fumbled inside the five-yard line. Fortunately for the Eagles, the fumble rolled into the endzone, and Agholor recovered it for a touchdown. When things are going your way, they are going your way.

Drive Nine

Perhaps to the surprise of some, Wentz came back out for the ninth drive. You don't want to show a team up – and, in theory, you could comeback from down 31-3 – but I probably would have put Nick Foles in at this point.
The Eagles ended up going three-and-out. Wentz had a wide-open Ertz on third down, but threw it over his head. This proved to be the final play of Wentz's day.

Week 12 Takeaways

Wentz's final totals on the day were 22/36 for 227 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also ran for 29 yards on five carries.
As mentioned at the beginning of the post, Wentz and the Eagles will head to the West Coast for the next two weeks, as they take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. These two games will be instrumental in determining whether the Eagles have a bye in the first round of the playoffs and home-field advantage throughout. Two juicy NFC matchups will probably go a long way in determining how national voters feel about Wentz's MVP case. Right now, he's the heavy favorite.
After 11 games, Wentz has thrown 28 touchdowns. He's three touchdowns away from the 31 that Donovan McNabb threw in 2004. The single-season franchise record is 32, which Sonny Jurgensen threw in 1961. Barring a complete meltdown in the remaining five games, Wentz should top both of those marks.
Jeffery probably isn't going to finish this season with All-Pro caliber numbers, but the positive effect that he's had on Wentz and Nelson Agholor, among others, is clear. The Eagles cap situation over the next few seasons is certainly less-than-ideal, but they need to find a way to retain Jeffery.
Between Wentz's back-shoulder throw to Jeffery, his nice deep passes to Agholor and Smith and his touchdown pass to Jeffery, the first-half was a good indication of the improvements that Wentz has made this season. Early in the season, he struggled with his touch, specifically on deep passes. He's cleaned that up and then some.
With that said, he looked a bit pedestrian in the second half. Sure, the game was in-hand. But you don't want to take your foot off the pedal. Wentz is a tough critic on himself, so you can bet he'll work to clean up some of the mistakes that he made.