Tag: Carson Wentz

Watch: Carson Wentz rushes for 12-yard TD in 4th quarter vs. 49ers

Carson Wentz ran it in for a 12-yard score, which gave the Rams the lead after a successful two-point conversion.

Carson Wentz got his first start of the season on Sunday and he took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase his athleticism. He made some impressive throws from start to finish, but he also ran a bunch against the 49ers.

With less than 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Wentz rushed for a 12-yard touchdown, which pulled the Rams to within one point. A successful two-point conversion attempt gave the Rams a one-point lead over the 49ers late in the fourth, so it was a big play in the game.

Check out Wentz’s wheels on this play.

Wentz’s 14 rushing attempts are the most by a Rams quarterback since 1950, showing just how rare it is for this franchise to have a quarterback scramble as much as Wentz did on Sunday.

No one has more to gain on Sunday than Carson Wentz

Sunday’s game against the 49ers might be Carson Wentz’s last chance to prove he can be a starter in the NFL

Carson Wentz isn’t Matt Flynn. He’s played a long time in the NFL, starting 92 games in his career and nearly winning league MVP in his second season back in 2017. But what if Wentz has a Matt Flynn game on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers?

You know, a performance where he throws for 480 yards and six touchdowns in the last week of the season – and his only start of the year, too.

Flynn went from Aaron Rodgers’ backup to signing a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Seahawks during the 2012 offseason thanks to that unbelievable and unexpected performance in the 2011 finale.

Flynn couldn’t beat out a rookie Russell Wilson in 2012 and never wound up being the starting quarterback Seattle thought it was getting, but he buoyed that eye-popping performance into an opportunity to start the following year. Wentz could do the same in 2024 if he lights it up at Levi’s Stadium in Week 18.

Wentz was benched by the Commanders last season and didn’t get so much as a single workout with a team this year until the Rams signed him in November. He hasn’t attempted a pass yet but he’ll start against San Francisco on Sunday with a chance to show he’s still got it.

It’s similar to the Baker Mayfield situation last year. The Rams claimed him off waivers from the Panthers and he went on to play five games with Los Angeles, throwing four touchdown passes with two interceptions.

The Buccaneers took a shot on him in the offseason by giving Mayfield a fully guaranteed one-year, $4 million deal. He capitalized on that opportunity and has started all 16 games, throwing a career-high 28 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions. He also has the Bucs on the brink of a playoff berth.

Wentz has fallen out of favor in a similar way that Mayfield did, but also like Mayfield, he has a chance to resurrect his career this weekend with the Rams. He won’t be afforded the multi-week audition that Mayfield had, but this is as big a stage as Wentz is going to have for the next two and a half months.

He’s well aware of what Mayfield turned his Rams opportunity into this past year, too.

“Yeah, I obviously saw what he did,” Wentz said of Mayfield on Wednesday. “I see the year he’s having now and I’m happy for him. But to me a lot of those things aren’t really clouding my ability to go play. For me it’s just go play, have fun, try to help this team win and still I know it’s a different circumstance. It’s Week 18. It’s all those things, but my job is still to go out there and try to help this team win and figure all that out later. But I’m enjoying it and excited for it.”

Wentz has more to gain than anyone on the field this week. A strong performance and maybe a team will take a shot on him in March like the Bucs did with Mayfield. If he flops, it could be his last game in the NFL – something that sounds extreme but is very realistic after seeing the lack of chances Wentz got from other teams in 2023.

He’s not going to have a Matt Flynn game where he approaches 500 yards and six touchdowns, but at the very least, he needs to show he can throw accurately, avoid careless mistakes with the ball and read defenses the way a starting quarterback has to. There’s a lot on the line for him in Santa Clara this Sunday.

5 worst losses of the Ron Rivera era for the Commanders

The Giants appear on this list more than once. But which loss tops the list? And what is your pick?

On Friday, Commanders Wire offered the top-5 wins of the Ron Rivera era in Washington.

Now we ask, what were the top 5 worst losses of the Rivera era in Washington?

A couple were horrible but didn’t make our top-5 list.

For instance, on Dec. 26, 2021, Washington went to Dallas and was embarrassed and humiliated by the Cowboys 56-14. In addition, on Oct. 31, 2021, at Denver, Washington had numerous chances to do something, but Scott Turner’s offense repeatedly was ineffective in a 17-10 loss.

Here are the top-5 worst losses for Ron Rivera during his Washington era.

 

Commanders’ Rivera: ‘We’re going to stick with Sam’

Sam Howell will be the first QB to start every game under Rivera.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera announced Wednesday that Sam Howell will be the starter Sunday against the Cowboys at FedEx Field.

The first question directed at Rivera was regarding who would start Sunday, and Rivera’s succinct reply was, “Yes, we are going to stick with Sam.”

When asked if it was due to his play last Sunday or Jacoby Brissett’s hamstring injury, Rivera responded, “Well, I think it’s a little bit of both. But I thought what Sam did, he did the things that we were hoping he would be able to do. He did some really good things. I thought he managed a couple of the drives very well, very nicely. I want to see him get an opportunity to finish it out.”

Rivera expressed that he thought early on Howell had been able to connect with Terry (McLaurin) and that was something he wanted to see, and that this Sunday gives them a chance again to do some more of that.

Rivera pointed out that Howell took his benching well during last week’s game preparation. “He handled it no differently than I thought he would. He’s a very solid young man, a very mentally tough guy, and I thought he handled it nicely”, expressed Rivera.

With this decision, it means it could most likely become the first season of Rivera’s four seasons where he was able to start the same quarterback all season that he desired to start in preseason.

Last season (2022), Carson Wentz was the starter for whom Rivera had traded in the offseason. Wentz started seven games last year, struggled at times and also suffered a broken finger on his passing hand against the Bears. Taylor Heinicke started nine games, with Howell starting the season finale against Dallas.

In 2021, Rivera made the decision to sign free-agent Ryan Fitzpatrick to be Washington’s starter. However, in the opening half of the opening game, Fitzpatrick badly injured a hip and was lost for the season. Heinicke then started the other 15 games.

In Rivera’s first season in Washington, he started Dwayne Haskins in the first six games, Kyle Allen received four starts, and Alex Smith made the other six starts. Heinicke then was the starter for the playoff game.

49ers vs. Rams will be backup QB battle with Carson Wentz likely starting for LA

The #49ers won’t see Rams QB Matthew Stafford on Sunday with Carson Wentz slated to start.

It sounds like Sunday’s game between the 49ers and Rams will be a battle of backup quarterbacks. NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo on Wednesday reported Carson Wentz will start for the Rams with their playoff seeding set at the No. 6 or 7 spot.

Wentz recently joined the Rams prior to Week 11 to back up veteran signal caller Matthew Stafford. He’d previously been unsigned. Sunday will be his first start since Week 16 of last season.

Since joining the NFL as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Wentz has played in 94 games with 92 starts. He’s completed 62.6 percent of his passes and averaged 6.7 yards per attempt. Wentz has 151 touchdown passes and 66 interceptions in those 94 games.

Last season he played well against San Francisco in backup duty for the Commanders. The 49ers won 37-20, but Wentz completed 12-of-16 for 123 yards and a touchdown.

With the 49ers not playing for playoff positioning Sunday and the Rams prioritizing rest over their seeding, the backup QBs starting is a sign of how the coaches intend to treat the game.

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Rams will start Carson Wentz vs. 49ers on Sunday

The Rams will start Carson Wentz at quarterback on Sunday, giving Matthew Stafford a week of rest before the playoffs

The Los Angeles Rams will give Matthew Stafford a week of rest before the playoffs begin. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Rams will start Carson Wentz at quarterback on Sunday against the 49ers.

It’s not a terribly surprising move given the circumstances with the Rams locked in as the No. 6 or 7 seed in the NFC playoffs. With a win, they will clinch the No. 6 seed, while a loss and a Packers win will drop Los Angeles to No. 7.

Wentz has not attempted a pass for the Rams this season after he was signed before their Week 11 game. His last action in the NFL was last year with the Commanders when he started seven games and threw 11 touchdown passes with nine interceptions.

With Stafford’s season over, he finishes the year with 24 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, throwing for 3,965 yards. He completed only 62.6% of his passes, his lowest since 2014 when he was a Pro Bowler with the Lions.

It’s unclear if the Rams will rest other starters but with Stafford getting the week off, we can assume at least some key players will either remain on the sideline or have their snaps limited.

The 49ers are also expected to rest their starters after clinching a first-round bye and Christian McCaffrey has already been ruled out with an injury.

Commanders’ Howell wants to see one Ram and avoid another

Sam Howell considers Carson Wentz a friend as the two have remained in contact since Wentz’s release.

Certainly Sam Howell wants the Commanders offense to produce this week, but he also wants to spend some time with one of the Rams.

Yes, the Commanders offense is going to have to put more points on the board in Los Angeles. The Rams are 10th in the NFL in scoring offense. Yet, the Commanders have scored under 20 points their last three games, all double-digit losses.

Former Washington quarterback Carson Wentz joined the Rams mid-season and has appeared in only one of the four games he’s dressed. Wednesday, with the media, Howell was asked if he had spoken with Wentz.

“I haven’t talked to him in a few weeks. He texted me a few weeks ago. He was watching our Seattle game because they were about to play the Seahawks, but I’ll probably talk to him if not today, probably tomorrow or something. We’re going out there a day early, so maybe I’ll try to see him.”

Both Howell and Taylor Heinicke, during the 2022 season, more than once declared to the media that Wentz was not only a friend to them but an exemplary teammate as well. So it is not surprising at all that Howell wants to visit some with Wentz.

“Carson’s a good friend of mine. I have a good relationship with him, and he’s someone that helped me out so much last year, and he was always so good to me. So yeah, I definitely, definitely want to chop it up with him for sure.”

The Rams (6-7) have remained intense and played well, winning three consecutive games before falling in overtime last week on the road in Baltimore. They are in the hunt for a playoff wild-card spot and have much to play for, Sunday.

One Los Angeles Ram that Howell hopes not to see at all this upcoming Sunday is All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

“He does everything so well. Just how fast he’s able to get off the ball, how strong he is getting off the football, and you got to have a plan for him. You got to know where he is every single snap. He’s one of the very, very special players in the league. Obviously, a future Hall of Famer.”

Watch: Riq Woolen was starstruck when meeting Carson Wentz

Watch.

The Rams recently signed Carson Wentz to play backup behind Matt Stafford. After LA’s one-point win on Sunday, Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen was excited to meet Wentz.

Watch.

This may seem odd to some fans, but they need to remember how special Wentz was when he was healthy. Prior to his knee injury in 2017 Wentz was one of the league’s better quarterbacks and would have been in the MVP conversation that year had he stayed healthy. He finished that campaign with an 11-2 record and led the NFL with a 7.5% touchdown rate and a 78.5 QBR. Wentz also had his moments as recently as the 2021 season, when he went 9-8 and posted 27 touchdown passes to go with seven interceptions. He has not appeared in a game yet this year.

As for Woolen, he had a rough start to the 2023 season but has bounced back strong the last couple of games. For the year he has allowed a 50% completion rate and a 68.7 passer rating in coverage. Woolen also has two interceptions and seven passes defensed.

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Watch: Seahawks CB Riq Woolen was so excited to meet Carson Wentz

Seahawks corner Riq Woolen is a *big* fan of new Rams quarterback Carson Wentz

The Los Angeles Rams got a much-needed victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, their first since Week 6. Though Carson Wentz didn’t see the field in his first game with his new team, he apparently had a huge fan on the other side of the field: Seahawks corner Riq Woolen.

The Seahawks Shared a video of Woolen going up to Wentz after the game and he struggled to contain his excitement over meeting the new Rams quarterback.

“I’m not even trying to be a fangirl right now. Chill, bro,” he said, trying to play it cool. “You’re a legend, too, bro. Hell yeah. Nice to meet you, man. I’m Tariq, bro. Hell yeah, nice to meet you.”

What are the chances Woolen thought Wentz was actually Matthew Stafford? They’re probably higher than 0%.

Not to downplay the player Wentz once was with the Eagles, but he isn’t exactly a star quarterback anymore. But hey, maybe Woolen just really enjoyed watching Wentz play during his prime.

After all, Woolen is six years younger than Wentz.

Tariq Woolen absolutely geeked out over meeting Carson Wentz after Seahawks-Rams

Tariq Woolen is a huge Carson Wentz fan! Who knew!

Seattle Seahawks Tariq Woolen has turned into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. On Sunday, he was just another football fan starstruck by meeting someone he really admires.

After the Seahawks lost to the Los Angeles Rams on the road, Woolen saw new Rams backup quarterback Carson Wentz on the field and immediately wanted to meet him and express how big of a fan he is of the former Philadelphia Eagles starter.

While it’s been a bit since Wentz was one of the NFL’s rising stars, this is the kind of unexpected interaction that you just love to see happen.

Hey, maybe Wentz will find his way up to Seattle next season as a backup quarterback, and he and Woolen will be teammates instead of just mutual admirers of each other’s football careers.

Until then, we’ll always remember the time Woolen absolutely geeked out over meeting Wentz after a game.

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