Healthy Carson Wentz ready for rematch with Titans
When Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz first went against the Tennessee Titans in the Week 3 game at Nissan Stadium, he could barely walk. In the rematch on Sunday, things are going to be much different.
The fact that Wentz was even able to suit up in Week 3 despite two sprained ankles he suffered just the week prior was a feat in itself—to the point where he probably shouldn’t have played.
Over a month removed from that game, Wentz has been on fire. And his health hasn’t been a concern for a good portion of that. He laughed when thinking back to the limitations he had in Week 3 because of the ankle injuries.
“Much better,” Wentz said laughing to reporters Wednesday. “I mean there were still some plays we made in that game from the pocket and plays that I definitely want back. A handful of times that I was like, yeah, I’m stuck in mud out there. Definitely in a much better place.”
It was Wentz’s worst outing of the season. It makes sense. A large part of his game relies on the ability to flush the pocket and make plays out of structure. Or at least to the degree where he can have mobility within the pocket. He had neither.
It led to a stat line of 19-of-37 passing for 194 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions. It didn’t help that Frank Reich failed to take pressure off of Wentz by using star running back Jonathan Taylor, who saw just 10 carries in that game.
But Wentz has become a new player since that game. He’s healthy and thriving in Reich’s offensive system. The downfield passing game has come back to Indy and the improvements he’s made with his mechanics have done wonders for his accuracy.
In the four games to follow that initial matchup with the Titans, Wentz has completed 77-of-113 passes (68.1%) for 1,003 passing yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions with a 119.5 passer rating.
A lot of that is building a rapport with his new teammates and finding the identity of the offense along the way.
“I’d say just within the offense, I think we’ve all developed in trying to just more or less find our identity and who we are and how we want to attack defenses, putting guys in the best position to succeed and I think it’s been fun to see that each week come to life, find a way to be explosive, create plays down the field and it just creates a different tempo to our offense,” Wentz said. “We’re taking shots, we’re running the ball, we’re throwing screens. Just kind of those things that I think we’ve all kind of meshed together and it’s been cool to see come to life.”
This game should be much closer than the Week 3 battle in Nashville. Wentz is healthy and thriving with his new team and will be looking to get the Colts on a three-game winning streak.
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