Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the remainder of the season and playoffs, coach Doug Pederson announced Monday.
The 24-year-old Wentz, who was expected to be an NFL MVP candidate this season, underwent an MRI on Monday morning after suffering the knee injury in Sunday's 43-35 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
It usually takes a player six to nine months to recover from the required surgery.
Wentz was injured when he took a big hit on a third-quarter touchdown run that was called back because of a penalty. He came up limping after absorbing multiple hits on the run but stayed in the game and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery four plays later to give the Eagles the lead.
Wentz was 23-of-41 passing for 291 yards and four touchdowns with one interception before leaving the game.
Nick Foles replaced Wentz on the next drive for the Eagles (11-2), who clinched the NFC East title with Sunday's victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for their first division title since 2013.
Foles, who was 6 of 10 for 42 yards after coming into the game, will now be the starting quarterback.
"The reason we went out and got Nick Foles are for reasons like this," Pederson told reporters in his press conference Monday. "I hate it for Carson, and the season he's having."
With his four touchdowns passes Sunday, Wentz now has 33 to move past Sonny Jurgensen for the most TDs in a single season in franchise history, a record that stood since 1961. Wentz completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 3,296 yards with just seven interceptions in 13 games this season.
The Eagles next face the New York Giants this Sunday before a Christmas Day game against the Oakland Raiders and a season finale against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 31.
"I'm absolutely ready," Foles said after Sunday's game. "That's what I'm here for."
(Posted by Steve Keating in Toronto)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
LOS ANGELES -- The Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East divisional crown with a roller coaster victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday but saw star quarterback Carson Wentz exit early with a serious knee injury.
Wentz threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns before limping off in the third quarter as the Eagles held on to claim a pulsating 43-35 victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
But the gloss was taken off the win after Wentz's injury.
ESPN reported Sunday that the Eagles star had suffered a season-ending torn knee ligament, dealing a massive blow to a team who had been many pundits' favorites for the Super Bowl.
The win saw the Eagles improve to 11-2 at the top of the NFC East, guaranteeing them their first divisional title since 2013.
The Rams meanwhile remain on top of the NFC West at 9-5, one game ahead of the Seattle Seahawks (8-5) who fell 30-24 to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
The Eagles victory came after a gutsy fourth quarter fightback when they clawed back the momentum as the Rams appeared to be closing in on victory.
Wentz had earlier steered the Eagles to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter to leave the hosts in trouble.
However the Rams hit back with touchdowns from Cooper Kupp and Sammy Watkins before a blocked Eagles punt allowed Blake Countess to score a touchdown to put them 28-24 up.
Wentz bravely regained his composure after suffering a heavy hit to find Alshon Jeffery with a two-yard touchdown pass to make it 31-28.
But the Eagles signal-caller then left the game with a left knee injury and was receiving treatment when Rams running back Todd Gurley rushed for his second touchdown of the day to make it 35-31.
The Eagles cut the Rams lead to one-point with a Jake Elliott field goal.
Crucially, Rams quarterback Jared Goff then fumbled to hand back possession to the Eagles, and Elliott subsequently kicked the go-ahead field goal.
With the final play of the game, Brandon Graham recovered a Rams fumble to complete the Eagles win.
- Dallas spoil Manning return -
Elsewhere Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys stayed alive in their quest for a wildcard berth with a 30-10 win over the New York Giants.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott finished with a career-high 332 yards as Dallas improved to 7-6 in the NFC East to stay in the postseason chase.
But it was a miserable return to the starting line-up for Prescott's Giants counterpart Eli Manning, who was cheered by fans but ultimately disappointed in his first start since he was benched last week.
Manning and the Giants were blown away by three fourth quarter Dallas touchdowns from Jason Witten and Rod Smith (2).
Dallas will realistically need to win their three remaining games against Oakland, Seattle and Philadelphia to have any chance of snatching a wildcard spot.
In other games Sunday, the Carolina Panthers jolted the Minnesota Vikings 34-21 after a three-touchdown rushing display from Jonathan Stewart.
Stewart grabbed the first of his three scores with a 60-yard gallop to the end zone in the first quarter as the Panthers boosted their playoff hopes to improve to 9-4. The Vikings slipped to 10-3 but remain atop the NFC North.
In Cleveland, the Browns looked poised to score their first victory of the season after leading 21-7 against the Green Bay Packers in the fourth quarter.
But two Packers touchdowns from Jamaal Williams and Davante Adams sent the game into overtime where Adams scored again to seal a 27-21 win.
In Buffalo, the Bills overcame blizzard-like conditions to beat the Indianapolis Colts 13-17 in overtime in a game played with thick snow blanketing the pitch.
"It was crazy," Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett said of the conditions.
"I never played in this in my life or played in the snow. Every time it snowed, I was in the house. It was definitely a different experience."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
The Philadelphia Eagles were dismissed as long shots when the National Football League season began two months ago but they have taken the league by storm to emerge as serious Super Bowl contenders.
Each year it seems at least one team comes out of nowhere to make a run at the postseason but nobody could have predicted the sheer dominance shown by the Eagles as they cruised to the league's best record heading into their bye week.
Their chances this season rested on the shoulders of Carson Wentz and the second-year quarterback has answered the call, most recently on Sunday when he tossed four touchdowns in a convincing win over Denver that improved Philadelphia to 8-1.
Despite having at least two more wins than any other NFL team, the suddenly confident Eagles are far from complacent as they chase a maiden Super Bowl championship.
"We’re never going to settle,” said Wentz, who leads the NFL with 23 touchdown passes this season. "Touchdowns, whatever, that's all great but being 8-1 is what it's all about.
"I didn't know what to expect with stats and all that stuff, that doesn't really matter. But I will say I've always had high expectations for myself, for this team, so we’re fortunate where we're at."
The Eagles had an encouraging start to the 2016 season until Wentz began to struggle, as so many rookie signal callers do, en route to a 7-9 campaign.
But with a year of seasoning and upgrades to the team's offense and defense, Wentz has proved to be the real deal and the former second overall draft pick is making a strong case for being named Most Valuable Player.
READY TO GO
"As great as it is, we still have half a season and seven ballgames left," said Eagles coach Doug Pederson as they look forward to their bye week.
"We've got to come out and enjoy this time this week, reflect on what we've done, but we've got to come back ready to go next week.
"If you don't take care of business from here on out, it's all for nothing."
The Eagles' receiving corps was a major issue in 2016 but the offseason acquisition of Alshon Jeffery has helped bolster an offense that appears capable of going up against any defense.
The recent addition of former Pro Bowl running back Jay Ajayi -- who rushed for 77 yards on eight carries and one touchdown in his Eagles debut on Sunday -- as well as moves to shore up the defense, have also paid off.
"The sky is the limit, man. We're just working real hard, taking whatever the defense gives us," said Jeffery. "We just believe in ourselves."
Philadelphia have faced little drama as they opened up a seven-game win streak but will face perhaps their toughest test of the season so far when they return from their bye week.
Three of their next four games are on the road against the rival Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams and should go a long way in determining how much chance the Eagles have of reaching the Feb. 4 Super Bowl in Minneapolis.
"We're staying grounded, all the way," Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said. "We have a mature team, even though we're pretty young in spots. We know what we’re capable of doing."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
