Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz played extremely well in his NFL debut against the Cleveland Browns last weekend, but could the 278 yards passing, two touchdowns, no interceptions and 101.1 passer rating have been a fluke?
Football fans don’t seem to think so.
In a span of about two weeks, Wentz has gone from a backup quarterback out of North Dakota State to selling a lot of NFL jerseys. How many? More than any other player in the league since Week 1, per ESPN’s Tim McManus:
According to Fanatics, which runs NFL Shop (the league’s official merchandise website) and powers over 300 stores for all the major sports leagues, Wentz’s jersey has been the top seller across the company’s platform of e-commerce sites since this weekend, thanks in large part to a 278-yard, two-touchdown performance against Cleveland.
Wentz was the top-selling Eagles player during the offseason as well, according to Fanatics.
Wentz has held off NFL superstars Tom Brady, Odell Beckham Jr. and Antonio Brown as well as fellow rookie Dak Prescott for the most jerseys sold since Sunday. You might think that is a bit of an overreaction after one good game against a lowly team, but people obviously believe the hype.
When you read the report we shared with you a couple weeks ago, you have to wonder if Wentz’s teammates are quite as high on him as football fans are. In any event, the No. 2 overall pick made some legit NFL throws in Week 1. He’s going to make plenty of mistakes, but it doesn’t take a whole lot to provide more than Sam Bradford would have.
Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
