Bowen: Eagles vs. Bears -- The Day After

ONCE AGAIN, just as in Carson Wentz's debut, the throws were strong and solid, but they weren't the gist of the story.

Last week in this space we discussed decision-making. The rookie quarterback, with eight days to prepare after being elevated to starter from third string, handled reading protections and calling audibles like he'd done all this before, which he had, albeit at North Dakota State.

This week, Wentz's poise was even more impressive, Wentz having to navigate the noise and confusion of a hostile stadium. But along with standing tall in the pocket came the leadership and cool analysis Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Wentz brought to a situation in which the Eagles' offense couldn't manage a touchdown drive until the final minutes of the third quarter.

When Pederson stood at the Soldier Field lectern late Monday night discussing the 2-0 Eagles' 29-14 victory, he compared Wentz to "a 9-,10-year veteran." Asked to expound on that Tuesday, Pederson said, in part:

"He and I are dialoguing on the sideline. He's constantly with (offensive coordinator) Frank (Reich) and with the guys. He's constantly playing the game in his mind, and that's what's given him, I think, an edge when he goes back out on the field, just understanding situations."

It's uncommon for rookie quarterbacks to engage at this level, said Pederson, who added that he'd never seen anything like it, at that position.

Just the fact that Wentz can initiate such conversations is one surprise, Pederson said. Another is "the depth and just the actual game plan-specific things that he's seeing out there on the field. What he's hearing out on the field and coming to us and recommending. He's asking me all the time, 'What are you thinking on the next series?' . . . So I give him two or three passes, a run or two in there. And things that we're seeing. At the same time, you know, I want to know what he's thinking, because he's the one playing the game."

This seems to be what truly excites Pederson, maybe because he knew the physical traits were there, the size and the arm, from the time the Eagles made the decision to try to trade up in the draft and make Wentz their future. He also knew Wentz was intelligent, but he couldn't know how the QB would react to NFL situations, NFL speed, as the games unfolded.

So far, there is little to criticize. Each week has been a different test, and a step forward. This week, the rookie faces Pittsburgh, a touted Super Bowl contender, with a much better defense than the Browns or Bears. Wentz might not have the weapons at his disposal to win this challenge, but it ought to be fun to watch him try.

* Jim Schwartz blamed the packages the Eagles spent much of the opener in for linebacker Mychal Kendricks notching only 19 snaps. Schwartz assured reporters that Kendricks is "going to play a lot of football this year." He got 20 snaps in Chicago. Also a broken nose and a quad contusion, Doug Pederson said. Pederson said Kendricks will be fine for Sunday's game against the Steelers.

* Seven defensive snaps for undrafted rookie d-lineman Destiny Vaeao, one game-changing strip sack of Jay Cutler. "That sack-fumble, at that point in the game, really kind of turned the tide," teammate Connor Barwin said.

* Ryan Mathews gained 30 yards on a late-game carry, 2 yards on his other eight carries. This is going to be as problem eventually. As in, this week against the Steelers.

* Marcus Smith confirmed that he, too, raised his fist during the national anthem. Smith was left out of most national coverage of the protest because he wasn't standing with the other three protesters - Malcolm Jenkins, Steven Means and Ron Brooks - and wasn't in the photos and video of them, shot while Eagles security director Dom DiSandro tried to shoo cameras away. That's one of the most Marcus Smithish things ever.

* Rewatching, I didn't think center Jason Kelce had a bad game, but he did have a really bad sequence in the second quarter. In three snaps, Kelce: 1. Seemed to stumble pulling and got caught up in traffic as Ryan Mathews was stuffed for no gain; 2. Was called for holding, negating a 19-yard Carson Wentz completion to Brent Celek, which Wentz let go just as he was being leveled by Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan; and 3. Facemasked Bears defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard, while double-teaming Bullard with Brandon Brooks.

"Confidence is still high with him. He's a tremendous center, and he's smart," Doug Pederson said Tuesday. "He and Carson are on the same page. Those things are going to happen. You're in a loud stadium. You're doing silent count. Guys are jumping the count. There are a lot of things that go into playing center in the National Football League, and the biggest thing is snapping the football. He did an outstanding job the last two games doing that. That's a tough position and things are going to happen. We just try to limit those and come back next week."

That in a sequence of three third-quarter dropbacks, Jay Cutler could turn the ball over twice?

Oh? Everybody? Never mind then.

As the Bears' head coach, John Fox is 1-8 at Soldier Field, where the team is 3-14 since the start of the 2014 season. Remember when Fox was 46-18 at Denver, winning the AFC West each year he coached there?

With Zach Ertz down, Trey Burton managed a career-high five catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, his first from scrimmage, in 31 snaps. It was a worthy effort, but Burton is not Ertz. Dorial Green-Beckham, with two catches for 18 yards on 33 snaps, also is not Ertz. To beat the good teams, the Eagles will need Ertz, sidelined by a displaced first rib, and they'll also need for Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor to stop dropping touchdown passes. (More on that elsewhere.)

DGB, by the way, was targeted for the fourth and final time with 5:09 left in the second quarter. Didn't see a lot of him after he apparently was responsible for an illegal formation penalty, negating a 13-yard Brent Celek completion. Both his catches came on the Eagles' opening drive.

@LesBowen

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog