In special season, one drive defines Carson Wentz's MVP campaign

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

If Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz edges out the likes of Tom Brady to win the NFL MVP, one drive will stand out as the moment that the second-year pro out of North Dakota State became a legitimate candidate for the award.

Wentz and the Eagles welcomed the Washington Redskins to Lincoln Financial Field Week 7, for a primetime matchup on Monday Night Football. The prior week, the Eagles had edged out the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football, meaning a win over the Redskins not only gave them a chance to seize control of the NFC East, but the NFC as a whole.

Despite taking a 17-10 lead into halftime, the Eagles were quickly faced with a potentially season-defining drive on their first possession of the third quarter.

After a short LeGarrette Blount run on first down, Wentz hung in the pocket and fired a strike to Nelson Agholor, for a 14-yard gain. As nice as the individual play – specifically the throw from Wentz – was, it came with a devastating loss. Nine-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters, who was in the midst of one of the better seasons of his career, collapsed on the play, with what turned out to be a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.

The Eagles had the lead, possession of the ball and a fresh set of downs. Though it felt like if there was one player on the offense not named Wentz that they couldn't afford to lose, it was Peters. Forget the chances of this individual game slipping away, Peters felt like a loss that could doom the rest of the Eagles season.

Instead, Wentz rallied the Eagles and led the defining drive of his young career.

After a long (and emotional) intermission as Peters was carted off the field, Wentz set the tone for the rest of the drive – and perhaps the season – on the first play with Halapoulivaati Vaitai in at left tackle. Following a fake handoff to Wendell Smallwood, Wentz found Agholor again, this time for a 10-yard gain:

Following a second consecutive first down, Doug Pederson called a play that allowed Wentz to roll out of the pocket and find tight end Trey Burton, who had become a forgotten man in the team's offense, for a seven-yard gain:

On second-and-short, Wentz took a shot deep to the endzone. He may have overthrown Marcus Johnson a bit, but Johnson was well covered by Quinton Dunbar, so it probably didn't matter:

Facing third-and-short, Wentz made one of his finest plays of the season. On a read-option to Blount, Wentz elected to keep the ball and had a ton of real estate to run into thanks to a great seal by Lane Johnson. To get a first down, the Eagles only needed to get the ball to the 45. Wentz made it to the 37 before he was even met by a defender. With a defender bearing down on him, Wentz very easily could have slid, having already passed the first down marker. Instead, he skirted inside of the defender, before Junior Galette finally brought him down at the Redskins 27. A very excited Wentz got up, and a week after playing Cam Newton, Wentz pointed to signal another set of downs, one of Newton's signature celebrations:

If there's one criticism that is still commonly heard when evaluating Wentz, it's that he sometimes doesn't know when to say when. For example, a week before, Wentz tried to run through a group of Carolina Panthers defenders, including Luke Kuechly, inside the 10-yard line. Of course, Wentz wasn't successful in doing this. There was actually a much better chance that he would break a rib on the play than him running through a group of defenders and scoring. He should have just slid and lived to see another play.

Wentz's 21-yard run against the Redskins wasn't an example of a time when he should have just gone down and lived to see another play, however. On a crucial drive, he fought for approximately 10 extra yards, not only pushing the Eagles closer to the endzone, but also further convincing his teammates that he would probably do everything short of running through a wall to score on the drive.

Wentz did a good job to follow up his 21-yard rush, as he hit Ertz over the middle for a second consecutive 21-yard gain, one that put the Eagles deep into the red zone:

Blount ran for two yards to follow up consecutive 21-yard pickups. Unfortunately for Wentz and the Eagles, the recently inserted Vaitai erased that short pickup with a false start penalty on the following play.

Backed up to the nine-yard line, Pederson lined Alshon Jeffery up in the slot, hoping he would get open for Wentz to hit him for his third touchdown of the season. Jeffery, the team's top offseason addition, did his part to get open. But him and Wentz struggled to get on the same page at times in the first half of the season, and this play was perhaps the best example of that.

On second-and-goal, Jeffery beat Kendall Fuller, and began to fade towards the corner of the endzone. Not only did Wentz not lead him into the ample open space for what should have been a fairly easy touchdown, but he threw the ball too high, not giving Jeffery much of a chance to haul it in:

Just when it appeared that Wentz may have squandered a chance to cap off what had been an impressive drive with an easy touchdown, third-and-goal happened.

No, Wentz didn't get another easy chance to play pitch-and-catch with a receiver that had broken free in the endzone. But there is a gunslinger element to Wentz, one that seems to thrive when plays break down. On third-and-goal, Wentz's inner Brett Favre reared its head.

Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky elected to blitz on third-and-goal. It proved to be a smart decision by the veteran defensive coach, as Brandon Brooks and Jason Kelce were immediately beat, collapsing the pocket that Wentz was operating in.

Instead of going down, Wentz ducked by one defender and stepped head-on into another one. All the while, he managed to keep his eyes down the field, and found Corey Clement on a wheel-route, where he delivered a dime in the corner of the endzone that Clement caught for a touchdown:

Though it isn't always the most memorable moment of the season, each year a team is faced with a moment that decides what direction their season goes in. This drive was that moment for the Eagles. For nearly a decade, Jason Peters had been the team's best offensive player. It wasn't until later in the week that it was confirmed that the 35-year-old suffered an injury that could end his career, but you had a pretty good idea as he grimaced in pain on the ground for nearly 10 minutes that Peters' season was over.

A punt or turnover may have sucked the energy out of Lincoln Financial Field, allowing the Redskins to steal a divisional game on the road. Instead, Wentz turned the drive into a passing-of-the-torch moment, leading the Eagles down the field for a touchdown. He fought for extra yards on a run that most quarterbacks would have simply gone down after gaining the first down. He overcame missing Jeffery on second-and-goal, to deliver a perfect pass to Clement for a touchdown, all while taking a big hit.

The Eagles went on to defeat the Redskins 34-24, giving them their fifth consecutive win, and making Wentz the MVP favorite in the process. Since Peters went down with his season-ending injury in the the third quarter of the team's Week 7 win, Wentz has thrown 13 touchdowns and just one interception. This Sunday, the Eagles travel to Seattle, where they have a chance to take what was a five-game winning streak when Peters went down, and make it a 10-game winning streak. For all intents and purposes, Wentz can lock up the MVP with impressive performances this week against the Seahawks and next week against the Los Angeles Rams.

When Peters went down with the injury, it felt like a moment that many would look back at and point to as a defining loss for the Eagles. It was a defining loss – there's no replacing someone of his caliber. But it was also the moment that Wentz seized control of the Eagles offense and the league MVP race.