The Washington Commanders were ridiculed for the offseason trade that brought quarterback Carson Wentz to town. While many felt Wentz couldn’t play, others felt that offensive coordinator Scott Turner certainly wasn’t the one to bring the best out of the former No. 2 overall pick.
In Wentz’s Washington debut, he completed 27 of 41 passes for 313 yards, with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Not bad. However, those two interceptions almost cost the Commanders a win. Fortunately, it was Wentz who rescued Washington from his own mistakes.
Overall, it was quite the debut for Wentz. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and rookie Jahan Dotson all had standout days while running back Antonio Gibson was terrific, leading the Commanders in rushing and receiving yards.
Washington’s offense drew praise from around the league, including from ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky.
The creativity in @Commanders offense was absolutely off the charts this weekend…@john_keim @NickiJhabvala @JPFinlayNBCS #nfllive pic.twitter.com/mvOqEOf3ZN
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 13, 2022
So much for Turner lacking creativity.
As for Wentz, he was excited about working with Turner for the first time in a real game.
“It was great,” Wentz said. “It was exactly what I probably would’ve expected. And I thought our conversations beforehand, after, and during were fantastic. I thought we were on the same page, and I obviously didn’t, didn’t play perfect, but the way he trusted me to keep coming back to me and making plays, that meant a lot. And for us to get it done meant a lot as well.”
Turner’s trust in Wentz was evident. After throwing back-to-back interceptions that led to 10 Jacksonville points, Turner kept pushing the ball down the field. Wentz responded with his two most impressive plays of the day — touchdown passes to Dotson and McLaurin.
Not a bad start.
