Why Carson Wentz injury may kill Eagles’ Super Bowl hopes
This is a Super Blow to the Eagles’ hopes of winning their first Super Bowl trophy.
Carson Wentz was injured in the third quarter of the Eagles’ 43-35 victory over the Rams in Los Angeles on Sunday. He will have an MRI exam on Monday. The Eagles did not confirm initial reports by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and the Associated Press saying team sources feared the MVP favorite tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Wentz wrote on Twitter late Sunday night: “NFC East Champs! So proud of the resiliency of this team. Such a special group of men. And I greatly appreciate all the prayers, I know my God is a powerful one with a perfect plan. Time to just lean in on him and trust whatever the circumstances! #Proverbs3:5-6”
Wentz dove head-first into the end zone for an apparent touchdown — which was reversed on replay — late in the third quarter. He was hit in the leg by the Rams’ Mark Barron as Morgan Fox tried to grab him around the shoulders. Wentz remained in the game and threw a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery to give the Eagles a 31-28 lead.
The Rams went back ahead 31-28 on Todd Gurley’s second touchdown run, but that left Philadelphia the opening to win with two Jake Elliott field goals on drives directed by backup quarterback Nick Foles, with a last-play defensive touchdown on a Stanford band attempt for good measure.
Philadelphia is 11-2, back alone atop the NFC heap, and clinched the NFC East. Wentz set a team record with 33 touchdown passes, and now Eagle Nation is praying his four touchdown passes yesterday were not his last of the season. Oddsmaker BookMaker.eu quickly bumped the Eagles’ odds to win the NFC from 2-1 to 4-1 and to win the Super Bowl from 5-1 to 10-1.
Foles, a former Eagles starting quarterback who returned as Wentz’s caddie this year, was asked if he’s ready to try to get the Eagles the rest of the way to the once-promised land if needed.
“I’m absolutely ready,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”
Ruthless-berger
Ben Roethlisberger entered the record book as the first quarterback to throw for 500 or more yards in a game three times. His 506-yard, two-touchdown masterpiece led the Steelers to a comeback 39-38 win over the Ravens at Heinz Field to clinch the AFC North title.
Ironically, it appeared Big Ben would be on the other side of history, as the Steelers were on the verge of losing at home for the first time in their history in a game in which they led by at least 14 points. Instead, they are 216-0-2 now in that stat after Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a 34-yard bomb to set up Chris Boswell’s go-ahead, 46-yard field goal with 42 seconds to go. Brown had 11 catches for 213 yards.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin mismanaged the clock, leaving the Ravens time for a potential final kick. But then Joe Flacco let the final seconds run off after a sack by T.J. Watt when he fumbled out of bounds, unaware the clock would re-start.
Beer nuts
The Seahawks blew some gaskets late in their 30-24 loss in Jacksonville as ex-Jet Sheldon Richardson and Quinton Jefferson were ejected, Michael Bennett cheap-shotted a Jaguar player, and Pete Carroll got a Sean Payton-like unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Jefferson attempted to climb into the stands after a fan threw a drink at him.
“He just kind of lost it,” Carroll said. “Somebody poured a beer over his head walking out of the stadium. I told him, ‘That’s pro football. They paid to get in, they can do whatever they want, I guess.’ ”
The Rams (9-4) remain a game ahead of the Seahawks (8-5) in the NFC West after Seattle’s 30-24 loss in Jacksonville. The teams meet next week in Seattle, and the Rams have to win to stay on top because a loss would mean the Seahawks would own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Blizzard of aahhhs!
It was a surreal day in western New York when a football game coincided with a lake-effect snowstorm to create an unforgettable 13-7 Bills overtime victory over the Colts.
An estimated six inches of snow was dumped onto the turf at New Era Field in the span between a half hour before kickoff and halftime. It was a game that allowed for almost zero visibility in the first half, in which punts plugged into the snow and tackled runners almost disappeared into it. The Colts in their all-white uniforms and helmets barely could be detected, except for shadowy outlines.
The Bills got through the first half with a 7-0 lead as Nathan Peterman somehow hit Kelvin Benjamin for an 8-yard touchdown with 27 seconds to go. But Peterman would leave the game in the concussion protocol, giving way to third-stringer Joe Webb.
The Colts made it 7-6 on a Jacoby Brissett to Jack Doyle with 1:17 to go, and Chuck Pagano decided to go for two and the lead. They got it on a pass to Doyle, but the play was wiped out on an offensive interference flag. Pagano then decided to have Vinatieri try a 43-yard extra point, which he made after all 11 Colts furiously cleared off the spot with their feet three different times. Vinatieri’s kick was wide right the whole way before it miraculously curved good. He would later miss a field goal of the same length, after Pagano let the clock wind down rather than try to get closer. The Bills won it in overtime on LeSean McCoy’s 21-yard run.
Bills players crammed into the corner by the stands and celebrated with their fans who were throwing snow everywhere. At 7-6, they remain in the AFC Wild Card hunt in a bid for their first playoff berth since the 1999 season.
Vinatieri called it “probably the worst conditions I’ve played in, maybe ever.” But the winners enjoyed it.
“It was actually fun, I’m not going to lie,” said Florida-born Bills wide receiver Deonte Thompson. “This is a game you dreamed about playing as a kid.”
Play of the Day
The Seahawks had just scored 10 points in 59 seconds to tie the Jaguars at 10 in the third quarter. On Jacksonville’s next play, Blake Bortles hit Keelan Cole in stride on a deep out and Cole outraced the Seattle secondary for a 75-yard touchdown. He kept running up the tunnel, a la Bo Jackson, and when he returned got a piggy-back ride from Leonard Fournette. With the Titans’ loss in Arizona, the Jaguars are alone in first place in the AFC South at 9-4.
Bad Beat
You’ve got Cleveland plus-three at home vs. Green Bay, and the winless Browns have a 21-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. But then Jamaal Williams scores on a 1-yard run to make It 21-14, and then the Packers tie it on a 1-yard pass from Brett Hundley to Devante Adams with 17 seconds to go. In overtime, turnover machine DeShone Kizer is hit by Clay Matthews and his chuck-and-duck is picked off by Josh Jones. Six plays later, Hundley hits Adams again from 25 yards and Green Bay gets the win and the cover, 27-21. The Packers, who won in OT for the second week in a row, have battled back to 7-6 with Aaron Rodgers eligible to return next week at Carolina.
Post Patterns
The Vikings fell to 10-3 with a 31-24 loss to the Panthers but still lead the Lions and Packers (both 7-6) handily in the Central. Carolina, fueled by Cam Newton’s late 61-yard run that set up Jonathan Stewart’s third TD of the game, are tied for first in the South at 9-4 with the Saints, with New Orleans holding the tiebreaker … This should be it for Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati. His Bengals followed up a lose-from-ahead body-bag game versus the Steelers on Monday night with an embarrassing 33-7 home loss to the lowly Bears that all but finished their playoff hopes. Lewis, whose contract is coming to an end, never has won a playoff game in 15 seasons (0-7). … Remember when the Chargers and Giants were playing in the 0-4 Toilet Bowl? With Sunday’s 30-13 home rout of the Redskins, Los Angeles has won four in a row and seven of the last nine to keep pace with the Chiefs at 7-6 atop the AFC West. KC leads the division on a tie-breaker and the Chargers are not in wild-card position, so there’s still more for them to do.
Three Stars
1. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers QB
Big Ben completed 44-of-66 for 506 yards and two touchdowns, 213 of those yards to Antonio Brown, to lead the Steelers to an NFC North-clinching, 39-38 win over the Ravens.
2. LeSean McCoy, Bills RB
McCoy navigated a Buffalo blizzard like a one-horse-open sleigh. He dashed through the snow 32 times for 156 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown in overtime to give the Bills a 13-7 win over the Colts.
3. Brett Hundley, Packers QB
Hundley completed 35-of-46 for 265 yards and three touchdowns, capped by a 25-yarder to Davante Adams in overtime as the packers won 27-21 avoided being the first team to lost to the Browns this season.
He said what?
“It sucked. It wasn’t good enough, and you can put it all on me. Don’t you blame one coach or one [other] player. It’s all my fault.”
— Raiders QB Derek Carr, after throwing two interceptions in a 26-15 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead, a game Oakland trailed 26-0 after three quarters.
Fantasy Insanity
It stings when you make a smart call that goes sideways. If you played Alfred Morris in a good matchup against the Giants, you did just OK (11.5 PPR points, 85 total yards, three catches). But it was Rod Smith who really exploited the Big Blue defense: 160 total yards, five receptions and two TDs for 33 PPR points.
We were expecting the Packers to start working Aaron Jones into the game plan this week. That didn’t happen. Jamaal Williams dominated the usage (22 touches to Jones’ four) and posted a monster outing (seven catches, 118 combined yards, two scores, 30.8 PPR points). Jones had four carries for minus-2. Remove this situation from the worrisome list.
From the That Guy’s Still Playing? Vault: There was Kendall Wright sighting Sunday. The source of much fantasy frustration for years awaiting a breakout when he was with the Titans, he had a whopping 11 targets and 10 catches (107 yards) in a Bears rout of the Bengals. We’re not buying. He has burned us too often in the past.
— Drew Loftis