McLane: Pederson has no plans to rein in Wentz

Doug Pederson confirmed that in retrospect, Carson Wentz should have thrown to Jordan Matthews rather than Nelson Agholor on the Eagles quarterback's fateful interception that sealed the Lions' 24-23 victory Sunday in Detroit.

But Wentz's decision to go deep, according to the Eagles coach, wasn't egregious and the end result, if anything, shouldn't keep the rookie from staying aggressive moving forward.

"I won't rein him in," Pederson said Monday.

Wentz has yet to give the Eagles reason to pull the strings. He has made few mistakes in four starts and often has corrected himself before the next opportunity. He had his first chance to lead a late comeback and forced the issue when a more prudent throw would have likely been the better approach.

"The next time . . . yeah, I would suggest that he [learn] off the film," Pederson said, "and find Jordan."

But taking away Wentz's assertiveness would be far more damaging than the interception that was, really, far down on the list of reasons the Eagles succumbed to a team with less talent. For almost all of the first 59 minutes, the quarterback was workmanlike and dynamic.

"We're beating him up over his fourth NFL start, and he did some great things now in this football game," Pederson said. "Not one play is going to magnify him or our performance."

But it is a play - just like the Ryan Mathews fumble that may or may not have been a dead ball after hitting an out-of-bounds Jason Kelce - worth reviewing. There were a number of elements that ultimately led to Darius Slay's game-sealing interception.

The Eagles got the ball on their own 25, trailing, 24-23, with 1 minute, 28 seconds left. Pederson called a pass play that had Matthews and tight end Zach Ertz running dig routes over the middle while Agholor ran a deep post.

The Lions had two deep safeties pre-snap, but the free safety rolled down to double-team Ertz. That left a single high safety and gave Agholor one-on-one coverage outside against Slay.

Wentz called this an "alert." It's unclear if the alert made him upgrade Agholor as the primary read or not. When Wentz dropped back, he appeared to eye Ertz first and then Matthews - maybe to look off the safety. But Matthews was wide open after Ertz rubbed out the slot corner.

"He moved a little bit in the pocket," Pederson said of Wentz, "saw the [free safety] cut and [take] Ertz away, and at that point, by the time he hitched back up into the pocket, his eyes went to Nelson."

Wentz had more than four seconds and was not under pressure before he threw. It looked like he signaled Agholor, who had eased up slightly, to keep running before he cocked and fired.

The pass drifted outside of the receiver, who had slight inside leverage on Slay. Pederson said that in that circumstance, the receiver should be thinking, "It's either our ball or nobody's ball." But Agholor struggled to get over and Slay, after a slight grab of the receiver's right arm, reached out and snagged the interception.

Wentz, after the game, intimated that he thought he made the right decision.

"I tried to give Nelson a chance to make a play," Wentz said. "I left it too far outside."

It was his first NFL interception and didn't come until his 134th pass attempt. Only Tom Brady (162) and Cowboys rookie Dak Prescott (131 and counting) have lasted longer to open their careers. After completing 25 of 33 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in Detroit, Wentz has thrown for 1,007 yards with a 67.4 completion percentage and seven touchdowns this season.

His 103.5 passer rating ranked sixth in the league heading into the Monday night game.

Wentz had many great moments against the Lions, but four throws, in particular, stood out. The first came on the drive after Detroit took a 14-0 lead. The Eagles needed a spark, and Wentz delivered when he shook off a blitzing linebacker and flipped to Mathews, who ran for 18 yards.

The efficient drive - Pederson dialed up several run-pass package plays that included a 10-yard Wentz rush - ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mathews. Just before the half, the Eagles tacked on three points thanks in large part to an improvisational Wentz toss.

On second and 25, Wentz flushed right when his receivers weren't open. He pointed downfield to Matthews, who was near the sideline, as if to say, "Go deep." But Wentz instead threw to the defender's back shoulder and Matthews instinctively came back for a splendid 27-yard haul.

"That's just when players make plays," Wentz said. "I have really good trust with him - really, all my receivers."

Wentz showed off his arm strength and accuracy on two third-down tosses in the fourth quarter. The first occurred on third and 4 and from the pocket. Matthews ran a "dagger route" against a zone defense and Wentz zipped a 20-yard completion.

A drive later, faced with a third and 6, Wentz roped a 10-yard fastball from the far hash mark to Matthews, who ran an "out" route.

"Those were two big third-down throws that not many rookie quarterbacks are going to make right now," Pederson said, "and he's been able to make those."

There were a few tosses Wentz would likely want back. He was nearly intercepted on an ill-advised pass to Agholor in the first quarter. But nothing was as damaging as the interception. Wentz has some gunslinger in him, and Pederson mentioned Brett Favre and careless throws in the middle of the field late in games.

But the coach doesn't expect the pick to weigh on the rookie.

"The one thing about Carson is it's a short-term mentality," Pederson said. "It happens once, he forgets it [and] he moves on."

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane