Wentz, Eagles topple Browns, 29-10

Published 1:15 am Monday, September 12, 2016

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carson Wentz has the Philadelphia Eagles on the right track. Robert Griffin III has the Cleveland Browns on the road to nowhere.

Wentz had 278 yards passing and two touchdowns in his NFL debut, a tenacious defense left Griffin hurting and the Eagles beat the Browns 29-10 on Sunday.

Sure, it’s only one game. But, the two teams seem headed in opposite directions.

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“This is just one game,” said wide receiver Jordan Matthews, who had one of the TD catches. “This is not the Super Bowl. We have to get ready for Chicago.”

The Eagles (1-0) face the Bears (0-1) on the road next Monday night. The Browns (0-1) host the Ravens (1-0).

RG3 plans to play against Baltimore despite suffering a sprained left shoulder late in the fourth quarter. His mother was so worried she called him during his post-game news conference.

“She’s really concerned about me,” Griffin said. “I’m in pain, but I’ll be OK.”

Josh McCown threw some warmup passes but Griffin stayed in despite the lopsided score.

“He wanted to be back out there,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “I thought it was important there for him to be back out there with the guys and finish the game the right way. And he did.”

Griffin was Cleveland’s 25th different starting QB since 1999 and made his first start since end of 2014 season when he was with Washington.

Wentz dazzled in his first game action in one month — he injured his ribs Aug. 11 and missed the last three preseason games. Facing the team that could’ve drafted him, Wentz looked like a potential franchise player. He finished 22 of 37 with a 101.0 passer rating.

“I felt very confident,” Wentz said. “It’s a great first start.”

The Browns were the same old Browns. They’ve lost 12 straight openers.

Here’s some things we learned from Philadelphia’s win over Cleveland:

NOT MISSING SAM: Trading Sam Bradford to Minnesota eight days ago paved the way for Wentz to jump from No. 3 QB to starter. The Eagles certainly didn’t take a step backward by trading away their starter. “I knew he was a good quarterback — a starter,” Eagles LT Jason Peters said. “When Sam got traded, I knew Carson could step up and make plays for us.”

UNIMPRESSED: The Browns don’t regret their decision to trade the No. 2 pick to the Eagles, not after one game. “So I thought he did some good things and it looked like he had some poise and was able to lead them to victory,” Jackson said. “But again, I thought we had our chances.”

LEARNING CURVE: With 17 rookies on the roster, the Browns are going to experience growing pains. Jackson resorted to trickery on fourth-and-5 on the Browns 41 early in the second quarter. It backfired. Duke Johnson took a direct snap and was stopped for a 6-yard loss. “It was totally my responsibility,” Jackson said. “I thought it put our defense in a tough spot.”