The Test Is Coming for Carson Wentz
No, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not world beaters. Their defense isn’t even particularly good. They have a geriatric quarterback, and the homefield advantage is all but nullified by Sunday’s game being played in Ireland. That said, this is the test for Carson Wentz.
Carson Wentz beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, but it’s how he performs for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 that will determine his future.
Can he win a game that the Minnesota Vikings need to? Can he lead a team to victory when that should be the outcome?
Last weekend, Carson Wentz started against a Cincinnati Bengals team without starting quarterback Joe Burrow. Try as he might, Jake Browning was not going to get a second revenge game against his former employer. Isaiah Rodgers took him to the house early, and the Vikings’ defense made it a laugher often.
The Heat Will Be Turned Up for Carson Wentz
This isn’t the same situation. It’s not as though this version of Aaron Rodgers is something substantial to be reckoned with, but he’s actually a real, starting-caliber quarterback in this league. That in itself makes the Steelers’ contest one with a more formidable amount of uncertainty.
Wentz doesn’t need to win the game on his own. He didn’t do that against the Bengals. Minnesota’s defense is good, even possibly very good. What Wentz needs to do is control the ship. If he can steer the team in a direction that allows O’Connell to dissect the defense and diagram a path towards victory, he’ll move to 2-0 and be in a spot that starts to necessitate real questions.
The reality is that, even before J.J. McCarthy suffered his ankle injury, the play was uninspiring at best. This Minnesota roster is set up to win now, and that’s something that needs to be capitalized on. McCarthy may be best suited to help them get there, but he also may not. There are no guarantees that Wentz raises that probability, but he has a track record of experience, and he has taken teams to success in this league previously.
There has been plenty of discussion regarding the future of McCarthy and Wentz in the immediate future. All of that hinges on how this weekend goes against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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