There was a lot of hype surrounding Carson Wentz’s debut under center for the Washington Commanders. On Saturday, Wentz finally made his first appearance in a game for Washington in a Week 1 preseason loss to the Carolina Panthers.
How did Wentz do?
Wentz completed 10 of 13 passes for 74 yards and played into the second quarter. He led the Commanders on their first touchdown drive when rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. scored from one yard out.
For his first game, Wentz played well. He didn’t force things, which has always been a knock against him. On two plays, he did hold onto the ball a bit too long, but instead of going for the big play, he checked it down and took the positive yardage. That’s the type of growth coaches want from Wentz.
How did head coach Ron Rivera feel about Wentz’s performance?
“Well, I thought he threw the ball well. I thought he threw where he was supposed to,” Rivera said after the game. “He threw a very catchable ball and delivered it on time. I thought he went through his progressions the way he needed to. I thought he handled the huddle well. I thought he got the calls out. And he did the things we hoped he would do.”
Of course, much has been made of Wentz’s practice performance through two weeks of training camp. It even led to an instance on Friday when team president Jason Wright clapped back at a local reporter who he felt was disrespectful to Wentz.
Rivera was asked if he saw any differences from practice to the game.
“Yeah, I thought it was different from practice,” Rivera said. “I thought our offensive line protected and gave him a chance to throw the ball. And he did; he threw the ball effectively.”
Rivera is like everyone else. He is tired of hearing about his quarterback’s previous two stops. Rivera is ready to focus on 2022. And Wentz’s preseason debut was exactly what he wanted to see.