Throughout the entire week, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz was stressed out and exhausted trying to push his way into starting the Week 3 game against the Tennessee Titans despite nursing two ankle sprains.
The 28-year-old quarterback spent the week undergoing MRI scans and getting immense treatment on sprains to both of his ankles. The process in preparing for a crucial divisional matchup compounded the exhaustion Wentz felt when game-time finally arrived.
“Stressful, mentally and physically just trying to get ready. Unknown really until pregame warmup where I was going to be at, and if I was going to be able to go,” Wentz told reporters following the Week 3 loss. “It’s been an exhausting couple of days. Really exhausting week just trying to get out here.”
Wentz gutted through those ankle sprains to play every snap on Sunday. The results were less than admirable as the Colts fell to 0-3 for the first time in a decade while the extremely limited Wentz completed 19-of-37 pass attempts (51.4%) for 194 passing yards and a 66.7 passer rating. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass or interception in the divisional loss.
Wentz started the week in a walking boot but quickly shed that as the team returned to practice Wednesday. He spent the first two days of practice getting as much treatment as possible in order to log a limited practice session on Friday, which he did.
A true game-time decision, Wentz knew his game would be limited considering he’s a quarterback that prides himself on making plays out of structure. Those limitations, both physically and within the Colts playbook, kept the offense from stringing positive drives together.
“I mean, I knew I wasn’t going to scramble around and make some plays. Didn’t feel great when I did that but at the same time, there’s plays to make,” Wentz said. “There’s plays in the pocket that I missed that I’m kicking myself that I want back down there in the red zone and some things like that. You know we had a chance. We didn’t execute in key situations, third down and red zone, and it definitely cost us.”
It will be interesting to see where the Colts go from here. Their playoff chances have dwindled to sweet nothings, and they face a decision to make when it comes to their first-round pick in 2022. Should Wentz continue to play above the 75% threshold, that 2022 second-round pick turns into a first-rounder for the Eagles as a part of the trade to acquire Wentz.
That may be a discussion better suited later down the road, but the former No. 2 overall pick has confidence the team will find a way to salvage the 0-3 start.
“Obviously, not where we want to be. Not the start we were expecting. Not the start we were hoping for,” Wentz said. “Like I mentioned earlier, we kind of made it hard on ourselves here but at the same time, the character of the guys, like I can just tell they are hungry to go turn this thing around.”
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