Carson Wentz Underwent Surgery to Repair Season-Ending ACL Injury

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz underwent surgery Wednesday to repair the torn ACL in his left knee, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN. 

Wentz, 24, suffered the injury in the third quarter of Philadelphia's 43-35 win against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14 as he attempted to scramble for a touchdown. He stayed in the game for four plays after hurting his knee, throwing a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery on fourth down. 

While the Eagles (11-2) have a veteran backup in Nick Foles, losing Wentz is a huge blow for their Super Bowl chances. The second-year quarterback was an MVP candidate this season, throwing for 3,296 yards, 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions while completing 60.2 percent of his passes.

As Josh Norris of Rotoworld noted, Wentz was also excellent on third-down conversions: 

Wentz's ability to extend plays with his mobility or scramble for first downs added another dimension to an already dangerous Eagles offense, which leads the NFL in points per game (31.1) and is third in yards per game (390.5).

Nonetheless, Foles remains confident. 

"I feel comfortable in this offense," he said, per Tim McManus of ESPN.com. "I love this offense. We're going to run this offense. So nothing is going to change."

Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich is likewise confident that Foles will step into the starting role and play well (via McManus):

"The good thing with Nick is he's been there, done that. When I had an opportunity to step in and play, I had never done all the things that Nick had done as a starter. Nick knows he needs to just go be himself. One of the great things, anybody that knows Nick, knows he's very, very comfortable in his own skin, and is very confident in his own abilities and is an excellent quarterback. And he exudes that confidence where the guys on this team see that, they feel that. You just know this guy's been successful. Just look at what he's done."

The Eagles can clinch a first-round bye with a win Sunday against the New York Giants and will clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC with a win Sunday and a Minnesota loss.

As for Wentz, Dr. James Andrews told Mortensen that ACL recoveries typically take 9-12 months. Thus, Wentz potentially could return by the start of next season, but he also might be sidelined for a good chunk of the 2018 campaign.