When Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense came off the field midway through the first quarter on Thursday night, having run three mundane series that totaled nine plays, it still seemed likely that the second-year quarterback, nothing less than the cornerstone of the franchise, had completed the helmet-on portion of his evening.
Even though the last of the three series had ended with a sack, a decidedly minor-key coda for the scattered crowd in Lincoln Financial Field, the standard course of action was to get the kid out of there. Wentz came to the sideline, shook hands with a few coaches and teammates, and backup Matt McGloin grabbed a ball and began to warm up.