For the duration of their NFL careers, it will be a storyline that follows Rams quarterback Jared Goff and Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz: The 1st and 2nd overall picks respectively in the 2016 NFL Draft and the inevitable comparisons.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson sees some of the commonalities between the two players.
"Both quarterbacks have had a lot of success with their teams," Pederson said on a conference call with Rams beat writers Wednesday morning. "Obviously, Jared was the one that took the Rams to the Super Bowl a couple seasons ago and Carson had an MVP-type season that year we went, and so there's some similarities there."
As Pederson somewhat alluded to, both players have led some of the league's most productive offenses in recent years since becoming pros.
Goff was in his second season as a full-time starter when he completed 64.88 percent of his pass attempts for 4,688 yards with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Those career-bests for completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns in a single season helped Los Angeles finish No. 2 in the NFL in both total offense and scoring en route to an appearance in Super Bowl LIII.
A year earlier, Wentz completed 60.23 percent of his passes for 3,296 yards with 33 touchdowns (a career-high) and seven interceptions, helping Philadelphia produced the No. 7 total offense and No. 3 scoring offense in the NFL. The Eagles won Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots, but a knee injury sustained against the Rams in the regular season prevented Wentz from playing in postseason.
While L.A. did not reach the Super Bowl that year, Goff helped it rank No. 10 in total offense and No. 1 in scoring in Sean McVay's first season as head coach.
"Both quarterbacks have had a lot of success, both quarterbacks are in two different styles of offenses," Pederson said. "And they do things very well in both of their respective offenses. Carson, for us, he continues to get better, continues to grow and learn, and understands the game. I mean, both guys are relatively young five years in, but they've played a lot of ball."
Regarding that experience, Goff has played 55 career games and Wentz 57. Yet Sunday's game is just the second time the duo will face off in the regular season.
The Rams and the Eagles last met in the regular season on December 16, 2018, but Wentz missed the contest due to a back injury. The year before, he threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns before suffering the aforementioned knee injury to help lead the Eagles to a 43-35 victory over the Rams on December 10, 2017. Goff passed for 199 yards and two scores in the loss. Both teams combined for 762 total yards of offense in the contest.
"They've both done well. It's been unfortunate, though, with Carson, with his injury history, not being able to finish a couple of those years," Pederson said. "But for the most part, they've had success."
While the matchup makes for an appealing storyline, Pederson personally doesn't put much emphasis on it given the experience gained by both players.
"I think every matchup matters for both guys," Pederson said, when asked if the matchup matters to Wentz. "Maybe in the first year or the second year when both quarterbacks are young, but now that we're into year five, I think it's just a matter of playing football and helping your team win."
