Welcome to Wentzylvania.
Bring on the Steelers and battle of the Keystone State undefeateds.
Whatever "it" is, Carson Wentz has "it." Lots of "it."
Don't take it from me, all you had to do was listen to NFL quarterback guru Jon Gruden, the lead analyst on ESPN's Monday night telecast, as he gushed over the Eagles rookie QB wunderkind.
Wentz continued his eye-popping NFL debut last night, seizing the spotlight of the national stage in leading the Eagles to a 2-0 mark with a solid, 29-14 win over the Bears on Monday Night Football.
Here's what I - yes, the president of the Sam Bradford Fan Club - kept thinking as I watched the first half of that game last night.
This isn't supposed to happen to us.
Eagles fans are use to the team getting it wrong.
This time Howie Roseman and the Birds brain trust got it right.
How do you think Cleveland Browns fans felt watching that game last night. The Browns not only decided Wentz was not worthy of the No. 2 pick in the draft, they doubled down leading up to last week's opener against the Birds by intimating they did not consider the kid from North Dakota State to be a Top 20 quarterback. Yes, they actually said that.
The Browns traded the rights to that No. 2 pick to the Eagles for a boatload of draft picks. Next week, in Week 3, the Browns will be starting their third different quarterback this year.
Probably not feeling a lot better are the Los Angeles Rams. They compared Wentz and Jared Goff and decided to cast their lot with Goff. He is currently holding a clipboard on the sideline as their third-string QB.
And unless you get too carried away with the acumen of the Eagles brain trust, there is this.
None of this likely happened if Teddy Bridgewater's knee had not exploded, ending his season and setting off a panic in the Vikings' front office. That laid the ground work for the trade of the Eagles starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, to Minnesota a week before opening day.
Remember, if not for the Bridgewater injury, the plan was that Wentz would not play at all this year.
Yes, I know, that's a little hard to fathom at this point.
You could tell five minutes into last night's game that Wentz is different, he has "it."
With all of one game of college football and one quarter of NFL preseason under his belt, he has "arrived."
Wentz exudes leadership, a field general. When the Eagles offense takes the field, there is no doubt who is in charge.
Doug Pederson - who has yet to lose as Eagles head coach - opened the game with the Birds in a no-back offense. Wentz approached the line of scrimmage and carefully examined the Bears defense, doing his best Peyton Manning imitation in adjusting the formation and play. The only thing missing was Wentz calling out "Omaha."
His numbers are not glittering. Wentz wound up 21 of 34 for 190 yards. That does not tell the two potential TDs dropped by Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor. It also does not account for the turnstile center Jason Kelce turned into most of the night.
None of that matters.
Once again the most important number for Wentz is zero. That's the number of interceptions he threw.
In the process, Wentz became the first rookie NFL QB since 1970 to go 2-0 without throwing an interception. That's 46 years.
It's been even longer since the Eagles won a title. That would be 1960.
Every year since, long-suffering Eagles fans have watched as other teams got it right, while the Birds wound up with draft picks like Marcus Smith.
Give credit here to Roseman, who was left to put a franchise back together that had been decimated by Chip Kelly. What Roseman has accomplished is almost as breath-taking as the play of Wentz.
This wasn't plastic surgery. Roseman took a blow torch to the Birds' locker room. He boldly maneuvered to get the Birds from No. 13 in the draft to No. 2. He hired an unknown in Andy Reid protege Doug Pederson. They zeroed in on Wentz as their guy and then they went and got him.
And finally, there was the final piece of the puzzle. That would be Teddy Bridgewater's knee. That changed everything. Gone was the notion of Wentz caddying for a season behind Bradford.
Bradford was shipped off to Minnesota, which allowed Roseman to get back the No. 1 pick he dealt in order to move up and snag Wentz.
Finally, there was the decision, against the usual grain of NFL thought, to throw Wentz in as the Eagles starter.
It's something that's just not done.
So is what Wentz has done in these first two weeks.
Rejoice, Eagles fans. Some day in the not too distant future, there is every chance that the Eagles - yes, the NFL team that resides here in Philly - will feature the best quarterback in the NFL.
And other teams - and their fans - will be saying about possible draft picks, "Maybe he could be the next Carson Wentz."
Are we overreacting? After all, it's just two games, and nobody is predicting much for the Browns and Bears. The Steelers should provide a much sterner test for "Wentzylvania."
But no one can now simply list the game as an automatic loss.
We have Carson Wentz
And he has "it." Lots of it.
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