The Student Has Become the Master: Carson Wentz Dismantles Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers

The balance of Pennsylvania quarterbacking power may have shifted from Sheetz Country to Wawa Territory during the Philadelphia Eagles' 34-3 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

From the moment he arrived in Mobile, AL for the 2016 Senior Bowl and the national NFL media found out who he was, Carson Wentz has been ceaselessly compared to Ben Roethlisberger: A small-school quarterback with a big-league frame, plenty-strong arm and surprising mobility.

But now in the NFL, after a precocious first two games this season, Wentz got the opportunity to test his mettle against Roethlisberger and the Steelers. And by all definitions, the showroom model smoked the collector's classic, thanks in part to the units that neither have any control over: their defenses.

This wasn't lost on the Steelers in the preseason—their secondary was so thin, they actually traded for notorious 2014 No. 8 overall draft bust Justin Gilbert. Despite this, they held their first two opponents to just 16 points apiece. It seemed as though Pittsburgh's perennially well-coached defense would make life harder on Wentz than either the Cleveland Browns or Chicago Bears did in Weeks 1 and 2.

Oops.

Wentz looked every bit as composed, confident and competent in his third game as his first two; his stat line reflects an excellent game plan drawn up by Doug Pederson and the Eagles staff: 23-of-31 for 301 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers, and no sacks.

On the other side of the field, the key may not have been Roethlisberger's play as much as DeAngelo Williams. Williams was a two-way force in the Steelers' first two games; Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had his front seven plugging every running lane and wreaking havoc in space. Fletcher Cox led the way with two sacks and a forced fumble; the Eagles secondary seemed to be everywhere Roethlisberger wanted to throw the ball.

Wentz also got help from his supporting cast; Darren Sproles made about six highlight-reel worthy moves on one play:

Darren Sproles almost LITERALLY broke Artie Burns' ankles. I don't think I've ever seen that before. https://t.co/06f9zXs8J8
— Ben Livingston (@937TeenWolf) September 25, 2016

But credit the defense, running backs or wideouts all you want: Wentz proved yet again that his abilities to read the defense before the snap, move in or out of the pocket, make good decisions quickly, and deftly throw a well-placed ball make him more dangerous than any rookie has a right to be. And that means that he's more productive than most NFL quarterbacks right now.