PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles coach Doug Pederson came to quarterback Carson Wentz's defense Wednesday when asked about some of the "lay-up" throws he has missed over the first two weeks of the season.
"Have you played quarterback in the National Football League?" Pederson shot back at the questioner, who said he had not.
"They're not lay-ups. There ain't a throw out here that's a lay-up. And so, some of it is just timing with young guys; some of it is just Carson just being not accurate at that particular time. It could be that there's a defensive guy that flashed a hand where he's gotta change his arm angle at a split-second. There's all kinds of reasons for accuracy, and these are things that we continue to work on and will continue to work on the entire season."
Wentz has struggled early on for the 0-2 Eagles. He is tied for most interceptions (four) through two weeks, ranks 29th in completion percentage (58.8), 32nd in yards per attempt (6.0) and is ahead of only Kirk Cousins in quarterback rating (64.4).
His 40.7% on-target pass rate is currently the lowest of any starter in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
"There's a handful in every game you want back. In losses, we talk about them a little more. It's something that I want to get better at," Wentz said of his bouts of inaccuracy. "Some of it is timing, some of it is just trusting what I'm seeing, trusting myself, and then just physically making the throw.
"I'll be fine. I'm not panicking or pressing on it."
There is some panic in Philadelphia, however, with questions being raised about the play of their franchise quarterback, who is 14-15 as a starter since his magical run in 2017.
Any talk of regression had not made its way to Wentz, though, at least until his session with reporters Wednesday.
"I don't keep hearing that. I don't know what's being said. But what people say or how they feel, everybody is entitled to their own opinion," he said. "And this how I've been my whole career: I don't get worked up about what people say, write, feel. I'm confident in myself, I'm confident in this team."
Wentz and the Eagles have a chance to turn things around Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.