While J.J. McCarthy returned to practice for the Minnesota Vikings this week for the first time since suffering a high-ankle sprain in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, the second-year signal-caller isn't quite ready for game action just yet.
As such, Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell announced on Friday that Carson Wentz will get his fourth straight start on Sunday when the Vikings welcome the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to U.S. Bank Stadium.
Wentz, of course, spent the first five years of his career with the Eagles, who made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft. The North Dakota State alum played an important role in helping the Birds to their first Super Bowl title with an MVP-caliber campaign in 2017 before suffering a torn ACL late in the season, at which point Nick Foles took over and played the postseason hero. Wentz was eventually benched for rookie Jalen Hurts during the 2020 season and was traded to the Indianapolis Colts after the campaign came to a close.
Naturally, Wentz was asked earlier this week about the significance of facing his former team, and while the 10-year veteran is downplaying the matchup, there's obviously no question that he'd love to get a win. What's interesting is that some are treating this like the first time he's faced the Eagles since the two sides parted ways.
But Sunday will actually mark the second time he's squared off against Philadelphia. And the Vikings (and their fans) will undoubtedly be hoping for a different outcome, as the first time didn't go so well.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz took nine sacks in a loss the first time he played against the Eagles
After one season with the Colts, Wentz was traded again in 2022, this time to the Washington Commanders, who hosted the Eagles in Week 3 that season.
Wentz had played solid football over the first two weeks of the campaign, completing 65.5 percent of his throws for 650 yards with seven touchdowns against three interceptions. But he failed to get anything going against Philadelphia, connecting on just 58.1 percent of his passes for 211 yards. And while he didn't toss a pick for the first time all season, he also failed to throw a touchdown pass.
Now, the main reason why Wentz couldn't get anything going is the fact that he took a career-high nine sacks in the 24-8 loss. Yes, you read that correctly, as the Eagles got 2.5 sacks from Brandon Graham, 1.5 from Haason Reddick, 1.5 from Fletcher Cox, 1.5 from Josh Sweat, and 1.0 each from T.J. Edwards and Javon Hargrave.
Hargrave, of course, is now Wentz's teammate in Minnesota, and all the others who took down Wentz that day are gone as well, having moved on to other teams or retired. So, that's good news.
It also bodes well that this year's Philly defense has only racked up nine total sacks through the first six weeks of the season, which is tied for the seventh-fewest in the NFL.
The bad news, however, is that the Vikings' offensive line, which hasn't been at full strength all season, has given up 21 sacks, the third-most in the league, with Wentz taking a dozen of those in his three starts.
And those 21 overall are with Minnesota having already taken its bye week. When examining per-game averages, the Vikings have allowed the most sacks in the league, at 4.2.
If given time to throw, Wentz should be able to fare better than he did three years ago, as he's performed well from an overall standpoint this season, completing 69.0 percent of his passes for 759 yards with five touchdowns against two interceptions. And the Eagles are certainly vulnerable right now, having taken two consecutive losses following their 4-0 start.
So, we now just wait to see how things play out.