Commanders' Ron Rivera: 'No Regrets' About Carson Wentz Trade Despite 1-4 Record

The NFC East has had a strong start to the NFL season, with the Philadelphia Eagles the only undefeated team remaining in football at 5-0 and both the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants nipping at their heels at 4-1.

The only outlier in the division is the 1-4 Washington Commanders, and on Monday Ron Rivera told reporters the difference between his team and its divisional counterparts was quarterback play, though he added he didn't regret bringing aboard Carson Wentz this offseason:

Even if Wentz is still adjusting to a new team and system in Washington, it isn't a huge mark in his favor that he's being dramatically outpaced by a career backup in Cooper Rush who had started all of one game in his career before this season, a fourth-year player in Daniel Jones who had a 12-25 record in his first three seasons and the man who replaced him in Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts.

You can make the argument, of course, that in at least the case of Hurts and Rush, they have more talented supporting casts in place than Wentz.

But Wentz simply hasn't been great this year, throwing for 1,390 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 62.9 percent of his passes and already taking 20 sacks. Only Matt Ryan—the man who replaced him on the Indianapolis Colts after one tumultuous season—and Matthew Stafford have thrown more interceptions (seven) this season and taken more sacks (21).

Wentz's QBR (38.0) ranks 24th in the NFL. His passer rating (86.0) sits 17th. Some of his mistakes have been incredibly untimely, costing the Commanders potential wins like Sunday's game-ending interception:

For Wentz, a pattern is emerging. The potential is there. But the gaffes, the tendency to hold onto the ball too long and miss simple reads and the inconsistency are hard to ignore. There's a reason he's on his third team in as many seasons.

The Commanders don't have a great Plan B on the roster, with Taylor Heinicke—who threw for 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 15 games for the Commanders last season as the starter, prompting the Wentz trade—the current backup.

For better or worse, the Commanders are on the Wentz Coaster this season. Thus far, the results have them firmly planted at the bottom of the otherwise excellent NFC East.