Carson Wentz Wins Philly over in NFL Debut – Rob Maaddi, Associated Press:

Wentz looked every bit like the franchise quarterback the organization hoped for when it traded a slew of picks to move up in the draft and select him at No. 2 overall. By the way, the hapless Browns owned that pick before trading it away after they signed Robert Griffin III…Philadelphia is a tough town desperate for a winner. It can make or break athletes who can’t handle the pressure. Wentz seems to have the right psyche.

Carson Wentz solid in debut, but other first-time starting QBs need work – Neil Greenberg, Washington Post:

Wentz’s debut against Cleveland was significant on two counts: He is a rookie and the Browns passed on him in the 2016 draft because they didn’t believe the North Dakota State alum could be a top-20 quarterback. Cleveland instead opted for free-agent quarterback Robert Griffin III, who won the offensive rookie of the year award in 2012 with the Washington Redskins. Wentz, who became the starter when Sam Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, completed four of his five passes for 56 yards and a 19-yard touchdown to Jordan Matthews on the opening drive…Through the games Sunday, Wentz received the fourth-highest rating from the game charters at Pro Football Focus, trailing only Andrew Luck, Derek Carr and Drew Brees for their Week 1 performance. Griffin ranked second to last…You could argue that Wentz proved little going up against a Cleveland defense that ranked No. 27 in Football Outsider’s pass defense Defense-adjusted Value Over Average last season, but he can only play the teams in front of him, and his upcoming schedule in terms of pass defense efficiency is one of the easiest in the NFL, possibly giving Wentz the inside track on the offensive rookie of the year award.

Carson Wentz could change everything for Eagles – Eliot Shorr-Parks, NJ.com:

At this point, highlighting, or hedging any points, with the fact that there has only been one game in the career of Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz seems like a waste of time. We all know it was one game. We all know he’s a rookie. We all know it was the Cleveland Browns. With that being said, let’s just go off of what we have seen so far, and on Sunday, it was hard to be at Lincoln Financial Field and not feel like it was the start of something special. Wentz finished his first game 22 of 37 for 278 yards and two touchdowns, but it was how he looked doing it that was impressive.

Following turbulent week, Carson Wentz helps put Eagles locker room at ease – Tim McManus, ESPN:

Carson Wentz says he doesn’t get nervous, but there were nerves to calm in the Philadelphia Eagles’ locker room heading into the season opener against the Cleveland Browns. Earlier this week, an Eagles skill position player was asked to give his initial reaction upon hearing that Sam Bradford had been traded to the Minnesota Vikings eight days before the start of the regular season. “My reaction? What the heck!” the player replied. Although he didn’t say heck…While everyone is riding high and feeling in rhythm following a good showing against the Browns, Matthews, Wentz and several others cautioned against making too much of one game. There will be rough patches ahead, and that surely applies to the young quarterback. Veteran tackle Jason Peters, however, did not throw any cold water on the growing hype in Philadelphia. He predicted it will only get better from this point forward for Wentz, who clearly has made an impression on him in the early going. “I said he can throw it just as good as [Aaron] Rodgers on the run, on the move. He’s got good release, he’s real accurate on the run,” Peters said. “That’s who he reminds me of, is Rodgers when he gets to moving, the way he darts the ball on the run.

Keep Wentz’s terrific debut in perspective – Mike Sielski, Philadelphia Inquirer:

He was a sight to see Sunday, but bear in mind: Before injuries and arrogance – his and the Washington Redskins’ – conspired to derail his career and turn him into a hope-and-prayer project in Cleveland, Griffin broke into the NFL in 2012 with a performance that made Wentz’s look like nothing special. At the Superdome against the New Orleans Saints, a team that had gone 13-3 the previous season, Griffin went 19-for-26 for 320 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-32 win. He owned Washington then just like Wentz owns Philadelphia now, and it took maybe the wisest man on the Eagles’ roster, one who was there to witness Griffin’s incandescent first game, to insist that everyone take a step back and appreciate how far Wentz has yet to go…The reality that this was just one game against the Browns, whose new front office decided to hollow out a team that stormed to a 3-13 record last season, did little to temper the giddiness. There were no pleas for patience. There were no admonitions that, over time, the league will get a good long look at Wentz and start to figure him out.

Why Eagles fans shouldn’t get too excited about Carson Wentz – Chris Chase, Fox Sports:

Since 1998 (the first year there’s searchable data via pro-football-reference.com), there have been 26 quarterbacks who started and threw 15 or more passes in Week 1 of their rookie season. Wentz’s debut, by QB rating, isn’t in the top five but is clearly one of the best Week 1 rookie games in two decades. (He was just the ninth of the 26 to lead his team to a win.) Marcus Mariota had the best game by the numbers, with a 13-for-15, 209-yard, four-TD performance in a 2015 blowout win over another rookie, Jameis Winston. Those numbers were good for a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The jury is still out on Mariota, of course. You can’t assign a label to his career yet and won’t be able to for a couple of years. But what about others? The second-best game number-wise — and you could argue it was the best given the opponent and circumstances — was Robert Griffin III’s debut for the 2012 Redskins. He he went 19-for-26 for 320 yards and two TDs in a shocking 40-32 road win over a Saints team many picked to win the NFC South. If you watched Wentz on Sunday, you saw RG3 scuffling for the Browns and thus need no update on how his career is progressing just four years after that magical afternoon…And then there are the top most-hyped rookie quarterbacks of the last 20 years. Both started for the Colts, one in 1998 and the other 14 years later. They put up remarkably similar lackluster numbers, with both Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck throwing for one TD and three interceptions with barely more than a 50 percent completion rate and a QB rating in the 50s — worse than Bradford had in his debut. And Manning’s numbers on that September day in ’98 weren’t any better than those of the quarterback picked right after him: Leaf.

The Terrifying Truth: Carson Wentz’s strong debut was a nightmare for the Rams – Jeff Smith, Rams Wire:

First, there was speculation about who the correct pick was, then there was talk about how far both players were from being ready, and now, we’re sitting back watching Wentz start Week 1 for the Eagles, with Goff not even being active for the Rams…It’s just one game, and it’s not the end of the world. But realistically, if you’re a Rams fan and watched Wentz’s debut on Sunday afternoon, you were probably left with a pretty bad taste in your mouth. Wentz wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t need to be. The Eagles jumped out to a quick early, and the rookie showed a great connection with each of his wide receivers, but specifically No. 1 wideout Jordan Matthews, tight end Zach Ertz and another young playmaker in Nelson Agholor…Instead of Goff being the pro-ready player, he’s the project. Wentz, on the other hand, is more ready for NFL action. We all had it backwards, and sometimes, that sort of thing just happens.

Carson Wentz Starts Career off on the Right Track – Carl Cockerham, With the First Pick:

I have to admit I was surprised given the way he used to freak out when pressure came in college. It was against the Cleveland Browns but they are an NFL team and the success builds confidence. This isn’t to say the Eagles are ready to compete, they are still a rebuilding team. But it appears the Eagles got their No. 2 overall pick right as Wentz is more ready than many believed. No. 1 overall Jared Goff is starting his rookie season on the bench. So he’s already ahead in the race for best first-round quarterback in 2016.

Whiz Kid Wentz & Eagles’ coach win in debut – Les Bowen, Philadelphia Daily News:

The giant media flood had trickled away. A few equipment guys were packing stuff into bags. Wentz walked around, drained a blue Gatorade, paced some more, grabbed a water bottle out of the cooler, then ambled over to where the offensive linemen dress, near the showers and the restroom, and leaned against a doorframe. Didn’t the Eagles’ rookie quarterback have anywhere to go, after authoring a 29-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns in his first NFL start, and sending half the Delaware Valley out to the mall to look for No. 11 jerseys? “Have to take a piss test,” Wentz said. Oh. So, what are the rules on that? You can do it whenever you feel like you can, ah . . . “Exactly,” Wentz said, before gulping water. “Believe me, I have places to go.” [Ed. Note: “Whiz kid,” get it?]

Eagles QB Carson Wentz lives up to his draft hype with 29-10 win in debut vs. Browns – Adam Stites, SB Nation:

The Eagles made a significant investment in Wentz and traded away Sam Bradford before the season to throw the rookie in the fire right away. After one game, Philadelphia has plenty of reason to feel good about the decision.

There’s still plenty of time for Carson Wentz to turn into a bust – Luke Kerr-Dineen, For the Win:

Yes, Carson Wentz was impressive, but he wasn’t so good that we haven’t seen a debut like this before. Chris Chase has a good break down of it over at Fox Sports, but his 101.0 passer rating leaves him fifth on the list of 18 rookie quarterbacks who have made their debut in week one since 2000. He had a better debut than the likes of Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Mark Sanchez and Chris Weinke, but was worse than those of EJ Manuel, Cam Newton, RG3 and Matt Ryan. For every argument you could use these first-game statistics to support, you could find one to oppose it. Let’s not forget the context of this all, too. The Cleveland Browns are not a good football team. The only race it’ll be involved in this season is one to the bottom, one it’ll probably win. Most projections have the Browns winning somewhere between three and four games this season, and Wentz played them away from home. In many ways a game like this comes with more pitfalls than a tougher opener. If Wentz hadn’t impressed against a dire Browns team it would’ve been a significant early red flag. That didn’t happen, of course, so Wentz is right to take confidence in his performance. But outside of that, there’s not really much more you can read into this.

The Carson Wentz era is underway in Philadelphia — and so far, so good – Mike Maske, Washington Post:

He barely had a preseason after suffering a hairline fracture in his ribs. He is making a significant jump from small-college football at North Dakota State to the NFL. Yet he played with the calm and effectiveness of a seasoned veteran Sunday in his NFL debut. Wentz, chosen second overall in the NFL draft, threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles beat the Cleveland Browns, 29-10. “There’s some protections that I probably missed,” Wentz said. “Obviously I’ve got to go back and watch the tape. But I thought communication-wise we were pretty solid today. We ran the ball well and the O-line did a great job keeping me clean. We’ve got to keep getting better. We missed some opportunities here and there that we can hit.” Wentz made gorgeous throws on his touchdown passes, a 19-yarder to Jordan Matthews to cap the game’s opening drive and a 35-yarder to Nelson Agholor in the third quarter. He also made good decisions in the pocket and was not intercepted. “That kid is gonna be a baller. … I just liked his patience,” said Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, a converted quarterback. “He was great. He did an awesome job. … Anytime you can do that — he looked very patient. He looked like he’d been there before.”

Carson Wentz’s first game was a true specimen for Eagles fans – Darin Gantt, Pro Football Talk:

Wentz showed no nerves from the start, which is impressive with a guy who started on eight days notice after the Eagles traded Sam Bradford, making it his and his alone. Leading them on a game-opening touchdown drive was just the first evidence. “I wasn’t really nervous. I really don’t get nervous. I like to listen to worship music before the game, kind of calm my nerves, and just go and have fun,” Wentz said. “It gave me a lot of confidence – going down, moving the ball, getting that [19]-yard touchdown right off the bat, it was huge for my confidence, huge for this team’s confidence. I know the people here were rockin’. So it was a lot of fun, and a great start to the year.”