Carson Wentz: 'I'll Keep Pushing Through' After Eagles' Benching for Jalen Hurts

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz said Wednesday he'll "keep pushing through" after being benched in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts ahead of Sunday's Week 14 game against the New Orleans Saints.

Wentz responded to a message on Twitter in his first public comments about the team's QB change:

His drop in performance is a major reason the Eagles are 3-8-1 rather than sitting atop the NFC East, which is led by the New York Giants at 5-7.

Wentz tallied 81 touchdowns and 21 interceptions over the last three seasons. He failed to come anywhere close to that efficiency across 12 appearances in 2020, completing a career-low 57.4 percent of his throws for 2,620 yards with 16 TDs and 15 picks.

Eagles center Jason Kelce said Wednesday there's plenty of blame to go around for the offense's struggles.

"This comes down to more of a failure of every position, including coaches, to facilitate a functioning offense," Kelce told reporters. "That's the biggest story here, not that Jalen Hurts is picked and there was some sort of internal battle and struggle going on with Carson Wentz. I don't buy that."

Hurts has appeared in 11 games for Philadelphia this season. Sunday's game will mark his first start.

He completed five of his 12 pass attempts for 109 yards with one touchdown and one interception after replacing Wentz in the team's Week 13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. He added five carries for 29 yards.

The 22-year-old University of Oklahoma product finished second to LSU's Joe Burrow in the Heisman Trophy voting last year after accounting for 53 total touchdowns (32 passing, 20 rushing and one receiving) during his only year with the Sooners after three years at Alabama.

Hurts will now try to provide a spark for the Eagles' 29th-ranked offense as the team attempts to make a late surge to the division title and a playoff berth.