Carson Wentz Is on a Goofy Pace
Carson Wentz’s time as the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback is drawing to an end, but through five games, the man has constructed a rather goofy stat line.
Backup Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz — turned starter for four games — has a strange statistical pace, featuring high volume and a limited ceiling.
He’s throwing for an intense volume per yards while notching touchdowns and interceptions at a rookie’s pace.
Peek at the Numbers for Carson Wentz. They Are Funny.
Mr. Wentz is a rollercoaster.
Carson Wentz Has Pro Bowl Yards Clip, with Pedestrian TD Numbers
With four games under his belt — a fifth on the way Thursday night — Wentz has accrued enough time as the Vikings’ starter to show a tell for his would-be, end-of-season statistical pace.
In short, Wentz is productive via moving the ball downfield but struggles to score, which is rather evident to the naked eye, especially last weekend against his former team.
At Wentz’s current pace, his 17-game stat line would resemble this, assuming no injuries:
- 4,556 Passing Yards
- 21 TDs
- 17 INTs
The passing yards are eye-popping, the touchdowns bleak. The interceptions would be condoned if Wentz projected for over 30 touchdowns, but that’s just not the case.
One More Go-Round?
Of course, Wentz got the nod for one more start this week, as J.J. McCarthy is still recovering from a high ankle sprain. Wentz will face a reeling Chargers defense that surrendered 41 points to the hot and upstart Indianapolis Colts last weekend, a team led by former Vikings signal-caller Daniel Jones.
Minnesota will welcome the passing yards bonanza, while merely hoping that Wentz doesn’t start his interception train, miss open receivers, or produce mind-boggling penalties.
Wentz may also get running back Aaron Jones back in the lineup on Thursday night, and his rushing acumen, along with this fantastic pass protection, may help Wentz cook a bit more efficiently than usual. Stay tuned.
J.J. McCarthy Due Back as Early as Week 9
Around the bend — 10 days from now — McCarthy should return to the starting lineup.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell hinted at McCarthy’s theoretical game-readiness if the Week 8 game had been scheduled for a Sunday, per usual, instead of a Thursday. The turnaround was just too short for McCarthy’s ankle to hit 100%, and O’Connell insists that McCarthy must log a full week of practice before reclaiming his QB1 job.
Neither was doable leading up to Thursday Night Football.
Nick Mullens — for Fun
Ever heard of a Vikings quarterback named Nick Mullens? He supported Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold as a QB2 from 2022 to 2024, known for his fearless passing style and willingness to toss interceptions if it meant advancing the ball downfield.
For context on Wentz’s current pace, here’s Mullens’ performance as a Viking, scaled to a full season (Mullens started three games for Minnesota in three seasons) —
Nick Mullens’ Stat Line as a Viking,
Scaled to 17 Games:
(this is real)
6,290 Passing Yards
34 TDs
45 INTs
Yes, this was too comical and borderline unbelievable not to share.
Zone Coverage’s Take on Wentz
Before Vikings-Eagles last week, Zone Coverage‘s Aaron Holland weighed in on the Wentz era in Minnesota, “Have you been enjoying the Carson Wentz experience? I haven’t. I spent thousands of dollars to travel all the way to Dublin for the privilege of watching a former franchise quarterback fulfill his lifelong dream of playing quarterback for his hometown team.”
“Fret not, my fellow McCarthy truthers, because according to Kevin O’Connell, J.J. McCarthy will practice in ‘some capacity’ ahead of Sunday’s noon game against the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s only Minnesota’s second noon game through six games, which is great since I won’t have to wait all day just to watch the most offensively challenged brand of football imaginable. O’Connell will be forced to press every button as a playcaller to make Wentz’s life easier.”
Wentz is scheduled to hit free agency in March.
“O’Connell has essentially run a preseason-like offense for a veteran quarterback with experience in a McVay offense because they signed him late. Still, it’ll be worth it if Wentz can give McCarthy more time to acclimate. My takeaway from this is that O’Connell has a substantially different vision for a McCarthy-led offense compared to a Wentz-led offense,” Holland added.
“Part of that has to do with experience level, but I wonder how confident O’Connell is in McCarthy’s ability to operate in a pass-heavy scheme. We all know that McCarthy was in a run-first offense at Michigan and didn’t push the ball downfield often, but his footwork is also not where it needs to be. Due to those factors, I’d expect a more run-heavy approach.”
Teams led by Wentz have never lost a Thursday Night Football game: 7-0.
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