National Football League

13 fascinating stats about Carson Wentz's blazing hot NFL start

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:12 p.m. ET

Chris Chase

1. Wentz became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to begin a season 2-0 without committing a turnover.

2. This is the third time in the last five years the Eagles are 2-0. They haven't made the playoffs in either of those years, actually going 2-12 the rest of the way in 2014.

3. Wentz became the second quarterback in the past 50 years to throw 30+ passes in each game of a 2-0 start. Heck, only 31 other rookies have ever thrown 30+ times in a Week 1 or 2 victory over that span. Before you start getting excited, the other rookie QB to start 2-0 with 30+ throws per game: Rex Grossman. So, you know, chill out. A lot.

4. The Eagles are in first place in point differential (+34, ahead of the Cardinals' +31). No rookie in the Super Bowl era has ever finished the season leading the team that had sole possession of first in the best point differential stat.

5. The Eagles have won their first two games by at least two touchdowns. The last 13 teams to start that way made the playoffs and every team since 2003 has done so. And as ESPN Stats and Information notes, the last time the Eagles started this way was 1980 when they went to the Super Bowl (and lost).

6. Philly went 3-15 on third down Monday night but was a perfect 3-3 on fourth down. That was the first time in franchise history the team was perfect on 3+ fourth-down attempts in a victory.

7. The rookie from North Dakota State isn't in the top 10 in any major NFL statistical category, though he is one of seven QBs to start both games and not throw an interception. Yet he's 0.3 QB ratings points from being in the bottom half of the league in that stat.

8. A partial list of rookie quarterbacks who had a higher passer rating in their first two games (no, QB rating isn't a perfect statistic, but it gives you a decent context): Rob Johnson, Marucs Mariota, Case Keenum, Robert Griffin III, Shaun Hill, Andy Dalton, Brian Griese, Thad Lewis, Marc Bulger and EJ Manuel. Wentz's 94.1 rating is barely ahead of Matt McGloin.

9. Wentz has completed 60% of his passes, thrown for 468 yards, has three touchdowns, that 94.1 rating and a Y/A of 6.6. Last year, Marcus Mariota opened his career completing 65% of passes for 466 yards and six touchdowns, good for a 132.4 rating and Y/A of 9.0. Mariota didn't even go on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year turning his 1-0 start into a 2-13 finish.

10. Jason Campbell had more touchdown passes than Wentz in his first two games. Patrick Ramsey threw for 100 more yards. EJ Manuel completed more passes in fewer attempts. Jim Druckenmiller, Danny Kanell, Shaun King, Jon Kitna and Ryan Leaf also started their careers 2-0. Cam Newton and Drew Brees went 0-2.

11. Speaking of Leaf, after starting 2-0 in his career (against teams that would both finish .500 or better that season) and getting some "did Indy make a mistake?' hype following Peyton Manning's 0-2 start with six interceptions, this is what the Chargers bust did in game three: 1/15, 4 yards, 2 INT, passer rating 0.0. He would go on to win two more games in his career.

12. Sam Bradford, the quarterback traded to Minnesota at a Viking's ransom, put up far better numbers in his Vikes debut than Wentz did in either of his first two games (121.2 first-game rating to 94.1 combined for Wentz). Now, you might say, that's an unfair comparison as one is a veteran and the other is a rookie coming out of a college in which one of his big games was in the Trees Bowl against Weber State. But Bradford is a quarterback coming off six seasons of being Sam Bradford, so I'd say that's a wash.

13. As most of the above stats show, you should forget about pumping the brakes on Wentz and be riding those suckers like someone driving a Prius in the left lane of the Jersey Turnpike. No one's suggesting Wentz is Ryan Leaf 2.0 but it's going to take until the middle of his second season for anyone to get a real read on what Carson Wentz, NFL quarterback, will look like. Early on, he's been great. He may continue to do so. But no stat is more important than this. His first two games came against Cleveland and Chicago. The Browns are 3-20 in their last 23 games while the Bears are 6-17 over theirs and have lost six straight games at home.