How did Washington fans feel when new quarterback Carson Wentz threw interceptions on back-to-back drives in Week 1 vs. Jacksonville?
If you felt a sense of dread, imagine how Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner felt. Turner called an outstanding game and put Wentz in many favorable situations, but those interceptions led to 10 consecutive points from the Jaguars.
After Friday’s practice, Turner spoke with the media and was asked what was going through his mind after Wentz’s second interception.
“In that situation, I wasn’t worried about it,” Turner said. “The first interception, he was a little late on the throw, left little inside and the second one was a freak play. I mean, we’re trying to throw a screen, the guy makes an outstanding play. You just gotta kind of wipe that from your mind and go, and we don’t have a choice at that point. It was the fourth quarter, and we were down eight points, so we needed to go score. So, we had to do what we had to do.”
Turner answered that one perfectly. I’m sure something was going through Turner’s mind last week, but he handled the situation perfectly, and his calming reassurance to Wentz led the veteran quarterback to throw for two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and lead the Commanders to a win.
While Washington fans, players, or coaches could do without that type of drama, it was a good first test for Wentz. He faced adversity, and he responded in the best possible way. Not only did Wentz impress his teammates, but his coaches, too.
Next up for Wentz is cleaning up some of those accuracy issues where he missed high in Week 1.