The simple answer for how the Eagles sacked Carson Wentz 9 times

In the time it took you to read this, Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz was sacked yet again.

Sure, that is a bit of hyperbole, but it feels close to the truth. Wentz and the Commanders offense struggled with pass protection early, late, and often against the Philadelphia Eagles, as the quarterback was sacked a whopping six times over the first thirty minutes, and for a total of nine times in his meeting with his former team.

The protection woes and defensive struggles added up to a 24-8 win for the Eagles, keeping them atop the NFC East standings. Washington dropped to 1-2 on the season with the loss, and now have more questions than answers regarding their passing game.

As noted, the protection problems for Washington began shortly after kickoff, and before most fans were settled into their seats at FedEx Field. The first Eagles’ sack came on the opening drive of the game, as Washington faced a third down near midfield. Wentz dropped to throw, but was shortly met in the pocket by the pair of Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham:

Here, Washington attempted a Mesh concept, with a pair of receivers crossing underneath, but Wentz is forced off his spot quickly. He uses a five-step drop from the shotgun alignment, and as he hits his fifth step in the pocket, both Haason Reddick and Sweat have won their matchups to the outside, which forced Wentz to climb the pocket. But Sweat continued around the edge, getting to the quarterback’s legs. That is when Graham arrived, and the pair finished the play for the first sack on the afternoon.

The Commanders generated a bit of offense on their third possession of the game, as they picked up a pair of first downs, but faced another third down near midfield. As was the case with their first drive of the game, the possession stalled out due to a sack on third down:

If that play looks familiar, it should. It is another Mesh concept, with Jahan Dotson and Terry McLaurin running the crossing routes underneath. Tight end Logan Thomas ran a sit route over the top of the crossers, while Curtis Samuel attacked deep downfield on a post route. Running back Antonio Gibson gave Wentz an option out of the backfield on his wheel route.

The issue here — and on many of these plays — might lay at the feet of the quarterback. Wentz had a good pocket to work with, and as it started to collapse around him, there is room to the right for him to extend and escape. Instead, he hangs in the pocket perhaps a tic too long, and time runs out.

(As an aside, Reddick wearing #7, combined with the visor and the white sleeves, is a hard look).

Things went from bad to worse for Washington and Wentz on their next possession.

The fourth Philadelphia sack resulted in a change of possession, as the quarterback put the ball on the turf at FedEx Field:

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. To that point, here is the state of play when Wentz hit his drop depth in the pocket:

When people talk about how interior pressure is tough for quarterback to handle, this is the kind of moment they have in mind. Pressure off the edges is one thing, as quarterback can climb in the pocket or find other means of creating space. But interior pressure like this one is wildly disruptive to a passing game. It throws off the timing on routes, and forces the quarterback into survival mode early in the down.

Wentz tried to survive here, but cannot. The ball gets punched out, and the Eagles take over.

For Wentz, the fumble added another to his career total, which after the play stood at 68:

Wentz would cough the ball up again late in the first half, as Reddick got to the quarterback for Philadelphia’s sixth sack of the first half. Wentz was able to scoop up the loose ball, but the Commanders were forced to punt again:

On this play, Wentz indeed climbed the pocket, but Reddick put every inch of his arms to use, knocking the football out of the quarterback’s hand just as he is making up his mind to throw. Structurally, the pocket is sound, but the Eagles and Reddick found a way to disrupt the quarterback.

Wentz finished the first half just 3 of 10 passing for 24 yards. Having lost 40 yards on the 6 sacks, the Washington passing game posted a net of -16 passing yards in the first half. With the Eagles scoring before the halftime break to take a 24-0 lead into the locker room, things looked bleak.

And some were calling for rookie quarterback Sam Howell:

There would be no quarterback change, as Ron Rivera and Washington left Wentz at the helm. The Commanders punted on their first two possessions of the third quarter, but got their offense on the move as the third quarter wound down. A drive that began inside their own ten-yard line saw Washington on the move, and after it stalled out just outside the red zone, the Commanders looked to settle for a field goal at the end of the third quarter. But a penalty on the kick gave the Commanders a fresh set of downs, and the offense looked to finish the drive with six, not three.

Their possession continued into the fourth quarter, and with the Commanders facing a 3rd and goal from the Philadelphia 14-yard line, a scramble from Wentz moved the Commanders down to the one-yard line.

Facing a decision, and trailing 24-0, Rivera left his offense on the field.

The Eagles stood tall, as a shovel pass to Logan Thomas was stopped short of the end zone.

Washington would take advantage of the opportunity presented with the Eagles offense pinned deep, as they responded with stuffing the next play from scrimmage, a handoff to Boston Scott, for a safety. That cut the Washington deficit to 24-2 — bringing Scoregami into play — and gave Wentz yet another possession.

But it also gave the Eagles more chances to get after the quarterback.

With Washington facing a 2nd and 12 at the Philadelphia 16-yard line, Graham got home for the third time:

Again, pictures are worth a thousand words:

Washington ran a three-step drop concept on this play, with Wentz hoping to hit Dotson on a quick double-move along the left side. But look at the pressure off the right edge from Graham as he hits his third step of the drop. Dotson has yet to make his move, and Graham is already a threat.

For his part, Wentz again could feel this pressure better, and move quicker to avoid Graham off the edge. If he did that, he might have a chance to hit Logan over the middle, McLaurin on the backside, or even just check the ball down. Instead he holds on the route from Dotson, and pays the price.

After an incompletion on third down, Washington faced a do-or-die fourth down attempt. But again, it was the Eagles defensive front that made the play, with Sweat getting home:

Again, you pressure off the edge, Wentz a tic late on feeling the pressure, and the Eagles getting home for a sack. Rinse and repeat.

Believe it or not, the Eagles pass rush was not done. T.J. Edwards got to Wentz late in the fourth quarter, bringing the Eagles’ total on the day to nine sacks. For the quarterback, it was the most he had been sacked in a single game during his entire NFL career.

Wentz finished the day having completed 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards and no touchdowns, and no interceptions. The nine sacks added up to 58 lost yards for the Washington offense, giving the Commanders’ passing game a net of 153 yards on the afternoon.

After the loss, Rivera spread the blame around for the protection problems against Philadelphia:

However, Rivera did state that his quarterback “could have played better:”

Then the coach was forced to address a report from early Sunday that linked the Commanders with a Combine-time trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Commanders had the parameters for a trade for the quarterback in place during the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, but Garoppolo’s shoulder surgery put the trade on hold. Rivera shot the story down after the loss to the Eagles:

Still, the fact that Rivera is now addressing this report, as well as denying any notion of a quarterback change, is probably not welcome news in Washington. As we saw back in Week 1, there is a certain roller coaster aspect to Wentz’s game. Back in the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wentz threw a pair of head-scratching interceptions, but the four touchdown passes helped Washington survive the Jaguars.

What could the explanation be for Washington woes on Sunday? It might be a simple one.

The talent on the other side of the football.

On many of these plays, defenders were a threat to Wentz at or near the time he finished his drop in the pocket. But that does not mean the fault lies with the men up front. Wentz does need to do a better job at feeling and responding to pressure, and on many of these examples he was trying to do too much in the pocket, and trying to give plays and concepts that extra tic to develop. This has been a theme with Wentz throughout his career, as he looks to fight late into the down on every single play.

When quarterbacks are facing more and more pressure in the pocket, we often see their internal clock speed up, as they start to look to escape quicker, or get the ball out faster. Wentz seems to have a slower clock in the face of pressure, and on Sunday it cost him.

For Wentz, he needs to find a balance between hanging tough in the pocket, and running out the back door when he feels pressure. Sunday he had opportunities, even when there was early pressure off the edge, to make subtle movements in the pocket to create space, rather than hanging in there until — or past — the last second.

Either way, pressure is production. The more you pressure a quarterback in a given game, the more chances you have as a defense at generating big plays.

But consider what we learned about the Eagles. As noted on Sunday, most of the pressure they generated against Washington came with them rushing just four. Seven of the nine sacks of Wentz came with the Eagles bringing just four after the quarterback, and dropping seven into coverage:

Right now the Eagles seem to have that most-coveted recipe for defensive success: The ability to get pressure with four up front, allowing them to play with a numbers advantage in the secondary.

That is usually a winning recipe.

So while the Commanders and their fans might be looking for answers in the wake of the nine-sack performance from their offense, the explanation might be a bit simpler.

The Eagles are really good.