Real Deal Carson Wentz Already Boosting Eagles to Contender Status in NFC East

NFL.com's Game Center doesn't tell the story, nor does Pro Football Reference's box score. That's because numbers don't do justice to the performance Carson Wentz put together Monday night in Chicago. 

You had to see it. You had to feel it. Wentz's coming-out party had to be witnessed. 

You had to watch as he confidently checked out of plays after scanning the Bears defense at the line of scrimmage, as he boldly stepped into the rush to deliver missiles and as he commanded the offense like a 10-year veteran. 

Quarterback is the most cerebral position in professional sports, and Wentz established on Monday night that he possesses both the physical and mental prerequisites to be a franchise quarterback. Not in 2017, not later this year.

Right now. 

It's all a little jarring, because Wentz wasn't supposed to be this good this quickly. He wasn't supposed to be this polished. He hails from North Dakota State, which makes him the first-ever NFL quarterback out of that FCS program. He's only the fifth quarterback to be drafted in Round 1 out of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). 

To boot, the guy started training camp as the Eagles' third-string quarterback. He took just 38 snaps and completed just 12 of 24 passes in one preseason game before missing the rest of camp and the preseason due to a broken rib. 

Quarterback	Record	Comp.%	TD-INT	YPA	Rating
Carson Wentz	2-0	60.6	3-0	6.6	94.1
Cam Newton	0-2	62.7	3-4	10.3	89.1
Jameis Winston	1-1	55.6	3-2	7.7	83.6
Andrew Luck	1-1	56.6	3-3	7.0	75.2
Sam Bradford	0-2	57.5	3-4	5.3	63.5
Matthew Stafford	0-2	50.8	1-5	5.3	40.5

No rookie quarterback in the last decade has started from the get-go with less preseason work under his belt than Wentz, who was raw to begin with. We're talking about a guy who until this month had started about 30 games at quarterback in his competitive football life (high school, college, pro). 

And yet, according to the ESPN broadcast, Wentz on Monday became the first rookie quarterback ever to start and win his team's first two games with zero turnovers. 

Beating the Cleveland Browns without any major blemishes was one thing, but handily beating the Bears on the road on national television was another. 

And again, it was the way he did it.

It wasn't that Wentz was 21 of 34 for 190 yards with a touchdown and no picks. It was the way he was in complete control running the no-huddle offense in order to set the tone on Philadelphia's first drive of the night. On that scoring drive, Wentz completed eight of the nine passes he threw. 

From that point forward, the game belonged to a 23-year-old whom few in the football world knew until spring of 2016. 

It was the way he organized his receivers, read the blitz, made changes and calmly made plays throughout that drive, and the many that followed, despite the fact his receivers dropped at least three passes worth at least 82 yards. In fact, if Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor had better hands, he would have thrown three touchdown passes instead of one. 

"

Eagles QB Carson Wentz has had 3 passes dropped worth 82 yards. 2nd-most yards for any QB this week (only Matt Stafford had more) #PHIvsCHI

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 20, 2016"

And it was the way a young, inexperienced quarterback didn't let those drops get him down, coming back stronger and more determined to pick his comrades up. 

It was the way he knew not to make things more complicated than they had to be, taking his easiest throws whenever possible. 

And it was the way he wasn't fazed by a slew of heavy hits—although I'm sure Eagles fans would prefer to see him take fewer of those.

Wentz established himself as a tough guy on Monday night, box score be damned. You saw it when he delivered a perfect strike to tight end Brent Celek despite being clobbered by Jerrell Freeman, and regardless of the fact that a holding penalty erased the entire play. 

You could see the arm, the ability to maneuver the pocket in order to buy time, and the intensity and perfectionism required of an elite quarterback. It was the way he smacked his hands together in frustration whenever the Eagles weren't perfect, whenever they were forced to punt. 

Legends are made of that. 

It's too early, of course, to use the E word, let alone the L word.

Just last year, Marcus Mariota threw six touchdown passes and posted a 132.4 passer rating in the first two starts of his NFL career, but the jury remains out on Mariota. Buffalo's EJ Manuel completed 68.2 percent of his passes, threw for three scores and had a 95.9 rating in his first two career starts, but Manuel is now a forgotten backup in Buffalo. And Robert Griffin III completed over 70 percent of his passes while throwing three touchdown strikes and posting a 111.6 rating over the first two games of his pro career, but Griffin was last seen trying to revive said career in Cleveland. 

But I watched all of those guys in their debuts, and none looked like Wentz. None were as cool, courageous and self-assured. And interestingly, none started 2-0. 

Wentz isn't just getting by with sheer talent. He's flashing the characteristics required of a quarterback ready to win now, not tomorrow. And for an Eagles team that hasn't won a championship in over half a century—a team with a high-priced, veteran offensive line, an expensive, talented defense and a particularly skilled group of skill position players—that's a very good sign. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon