By Marc Lawrence — The Ringer reports that through 10 games this year, Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz has been sacked 50 times, more than any quarterback all of last season. He got sacked at least three times in 11 of the Eagles’ 12 games, losing a whopping 326 yards on those plays alone. (That’s almost 30 yards a game.) Yes, Philadelphia has a shoddy offensive line with an Australian rugby convert at left tackle and an undrafted guy at right tackle and right guard … but look at this play. Wentz basically asks opponents to sack him. Sunday, the Eagles finally turned things over to Jalen Hurts and gave him a trial by fire against a Saints defense that hadn’t allowed 20 points in a game since Week 8. But Hurts got the Eagles out to a 17-0 halftime lead and held on for a 24-21 win. When players got past the Eagles’ makeshift O-line on Sunday, Hurts was smart and swift enough to get the hell out of there. Wentz leads the NFL in sacks and interceptions. Hurts threw no picks and was never sacked. A quarterback is so much more than a passer – and Hurts is the best quarterback on the Philadelphia Eagles. He obviously tops last week’s list of NFL winners and losers. To see other winners and losers from Week 14 NFL click here.
Trending Today
50 years after staging the first Monday night game in history, and on the heels of yesterday’s Monday Night contest against their former selves, the Cleveland Browns are back. They’ve lived through The Drive, The Fumble, The Move, and lastly The Hoist watching Art Modell sneak out of town in a Mayflower truck and then hoist the elusive Lombardi trophy with Baltimore rather than Cleveland. The Browns have gone through thirty different quarterbacks, even going 1-31 over a recent run while turning into a laughingstock of the league. “I don’t think there’s a fan base that’s gone through more suffering in pro sports in the last quarter century,” said Joe Thomas, Cleveland’s former All-Pro offensive tackle who experienced one winning season as a rookie in 2007 before retiring two years ago and now considers himself a “full-time” Browns fan. Cheers to the Dawg Pound. The Browns are back.
Caveat Emptor
From this week’s PLAYBOOK Football Newsletter: Head coach Dabo Swinney is 5-8 SUATS with Clemson when Tigers are seeking revenge versus greater than .800 foes, including 0-3 ATS as a favorite of more than six points. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is 9-2 ATS as a dog during the regular season when his team is undefeated. Buyer beware.
