Four years ago, the Rams and Eagles made pivotal investments in the future of their franchises, selecting Jared Goff and Carson Wentz with the first two picks, respectively, in the 2016 NFL Draft. In Week 2, the two passers face off for just the second time in their early careers.
Like it or not, Goff and Wentz will forever be compared. And, interestingly enough, it's been very common to witness a flop in 1-2 overall pick duos (see Luck / Griffin in 2012, Winston / Mariota in 2015, Couch / McNabb in 1999 and Manning / Leaf in 1998).
Career Accomplishments
Neither Goff nor Wentz have become anything close to a draft flop - quite the opposite, in fact. Each has achieved early success in four seasons as a pro, reaching a Super Bowl and earning a contract extension with their respective team.
Goff has been named to two Pro Bowls (2017 and 2018) and reached the Super Bowl once, a game in which he led the Rams to only three total points and drew skepticism around his role as the face of the franchise. Similarly, Wentz has been elected to one Pro Bowl and reached the Super Bowl in 2017, despite not playing the final seven games that season and watching the Eagles win their first Super Bowl from the sidelines.
The Knocks
For Goff, it's been a lack of consistency. 2019 was undoubtedly a down year for Goff, throwing a career-high 22 interceptions and suffering setbacks on offense that ultimately denied L.A. from the postseason. As for Wentz, it's obviously injury history - a major source of risk that led the Eagles to snag some insurance at the quarterback position this past April in the form of second round pick, Jalen Hurts.
In their only meeting as starters to-date, Wentz led the Eagles to a high-scoring win over Goff's Rams while also suffering a torn ACL late in the game that ultimately ended his 2017 season. Despite net positive track records, both quarterbacks still have plenty of room to build on early-career accomplishments.
Sunday's Matchup
This week, Wentz gets Goff and the Rams at home, where the Philly offense has been particularly potent, when healthy. However, the absence of several key contributors in Week 1 - including Miles Sanders, Alshon Jeffrey, Lane Johnson and Andre Dillard - directly contributed to two Wentz interceptions and eight sacks on the QB against Washington. Look for more of the same from Wentz in Week 2 as L.A. is able to key in on his limited number of passing game targets.
Goff carries a more optimistic outlook into the Week 2 meeting with Philly. The Rams have scored 27 or more points in 18 of their past 24 regular season games on the road - more points, in fact, than they've scored at home during that time frame. Despite now being without former offensive staples, Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks, the Rams offense rolled in Week 1 against a tough Cowboys defense - and are poised to do the same in Philadelphia.
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