Monday Eagles links roundup: Carson Wentz has the entire NFL swooning again

Here we are the morning after Eagles' 34-3 crushing of Pittsburgh, a win so dominant that it probably feels to some gloating fans like Philadelphia defeated the entire city and not just the Steelers.

If you think the season-defining victory* impressed folks around here, check out what the national media has to say about Carson Wentz and the Birds.

* - By "season" I mean late summer/early autumn, not the football season. And there won't be another Philly-Pittsburgh showdown until the first Flyers-Penguins game of the hockey season, October 29. Which is so far away that Sidney Crosby isn't even in Pittsburgh right now. Instead, he's playing meaningless exhibition games for a supposed Canadian national team at the supposed World Cup. Anyway, back to football.

Let's start with ESPN's Chris Berman, Herm Edwards and Ryan Clark, who fawned over Wentz and the Eagles' defense on "Sunday Night Countdown":

Here's CBS Sports' Will Brinson:

Anyone who says they saw Wentz's start coming is lying - he now has 102 passing attempts on the season, making him the first player in NFL history with 100 passing attempts, 60 completions, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. Wentz had 612 passing attempts in college, for his career, making him impossible to project.

We go next to Bleacher Report's Sean Tomlinson:

Learning to play quarterback at the NFL level is the hardest adjustment in football. Heck, it might be the most difficult learning curve in sports. And yet there was Wentz in Week 1 taking on a starting job fresh out of North Dakota State with only slightly more than zero snaps to his name.

But three weeks later, no one is laughing.

It's difficult to put together words in real time while watching Wentz. Instead, the rookie elicits garbled screams and stunned silence as he makes the position look remarkably easy.

The Washington Post's Mark Maske was a bit more reserved, but only a bit:

Wentz was oh-so-impressive again, and the Eagles improved to 3-0 by overpowering the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field.

Make that the first-place Eagles.

Maybe outplaying the Browns' Robert Griffin III and the Bears' Jay Cutler was no big deal. But being the best quarterback on a day when he shared a field with the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger is entirely different.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, however, had no reservations about accelerating the hype train: 

There is a feeling of unbridled joy after this franchise escaped the clutches of a motor-mouthed egomaniacal dictator ill-equipped to tell the truth even if Wonder Woman whipped out her lasso.

There is a sense of disbelief that this sort of geeky kid is making it happen so quickly. The city's crush has turned into a full-fledged love affair.

Is it possible? Could the Eagles really have the next young star quarterback?

O.M.G.

NFL.com's Judy Battista spotlights That Play:

That Wentz was supposed to be Sam Bradford's apprentice this season, that he missed most of the preseason with a rib injury to forestall a complete evaluation, is long forgotten, along with Bradford himself, Chip Kelly, the exorbitant haul the Eagles gave up to move into position to draft Wentz and all the stops and starts since Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid. The future has come at the Eagles fast -- it is just a month old now - and it is big and strong with a charming story that originates at a small school, nearly made a detour into commercial real estate and has made its first stop at 3-0, atop the NFC East.

Steelers players offered what seemed at times to be only grudging praise of their conquerors. But Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Ron Cook had plenty of nice things to say:

No one here will argue after Wentz led the Eagles to a ridiculously easy 34-3 win even if Heyward was being sarcastic. By the time the Eagles play again Oct. 9 at Detroit after their off week, there will be a push for Wentz to make the All-Century team.

Why shouldn't the lovable Philly fans believe after what Wentz did to the not-so-proud-at-the-moment Steelers defense?

Finally, here's one item that isn't about Carson Wentz. ESPN's Dan Graziano spoglighted the terrific effort put in by the Eagles' defense:

Due respect to the breathless September phenomenon that is young Carson Wentz, the most stunning number on the Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night was not the Philadelphia Eagles' 34 but rather the Pittsburgh Steelers' 3.