PHILADELPHIA -- The rookie quarterback quickly turned Philadelphia into Carson City.Coaches and teammates have raved about Carson Wentz despite barely seeing him play in games. Now a city starved for its first NFL championship since 1960 has embraced the red-haired kid from Bismarck following an impressive NFL debut.Its his team now, right tackle Lane Johnson said.Playing his first game in a month, Wentz showed no signs of rust or inexperience.Itll hit me after the game that Ive been dreaming about this since I was a kid, Wentz said after he threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns to help the Eagles beat the Cleveland Browns 29-10 on Sunday.Wentz looked every bit like the franchise quarterback the organization hoped for when it traded a slew of picks to move up in the draft and select him at No. 2 overall. By the way, the hapless Browns owned that pick before trading it away after they signed Robert Griffin III.Its not surprising, first-year coach Doug Pederson said of Wentzs success. Just knowing the maturity level that he has, this is who he is. This is his DNA. He prepared like a veteran and he played that way.Philadelphia is a tough town desperate for a winner. It can make or break athletes who cant handle the pressure. Wentz seems to have the right psyche.Its just a game, he said.Wentz, who missed the last three preseason games with injured ribs, immediately won over fans with a 19-yard TD pass to Jordan Matthews on the opening drive. Fast starts werent typical last year when Chip Kelly and his up-tempo offense ran the show. The Eagles didnt even score a TD in the first quarter until Week 6.That was huge, Wentz said. It gave me a lot of confidence.Promoted from No. 3 quarterback to starter just eight days ago after Sam Bradford was traded to Minnesota, Wentz played mistake-free football. He finished 22 of 37 with a 101.0 passer rating.I like what I see, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. Thats his preparation. Hes been here every morning at 5.One play after converting a fourth-and-4 from the Browns 40, Wentz tossed a perfect 35-yard TD pass down the right side to Nelson Agholor for a 22-10 lead in the third quarter.Hes a great competitor, Agholor said. He is ready for that moment.Wentz wasnt concerned about protecting his ribs, stood in the pocket, took some hard shots and made crisp passes. He fired one pass to Matthews for a big gain right before getting knocked down.Hes extremely confident, not that hes cocky, but no stage is too big for him, tight end Zach Ertz said. People think: `Oh, hes playing in Philadelphia from North Dakota State. There are not enough good things I can say about him. The guys are excited to play with him.So, hold off on the notion that the Eagles (1-0) gave up on contending in a weak NFC East by trading Bradford and committed to rebuilding by starting Wentz. Theyll be right in the mix if Wentz plays like this.When Sam got traded, I knew Carson could step up and make plays for us, left tackle Jason Peters said.Then again, he only beat the Browns (0-1).This is just one game, Matthews said. This is not the Super Bowl. We have to get ready for Chicago.The Eagles visit the Bears on Monday night in Week 2.---AP NFL website:
www.pro32.ap.org---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. LIVERPOOL, England -- With the tackles flying in and the noise levels ramping up inside Goodison Park, Arsenals players faced a huge test of their Premier League title credentials in the final minutes of a tight game against Everton.They caved in.Ashley Williams headed home an 86th-minute winner on Tuesday to earn Everton a 2-1 victory and end Arsenals 14-match unbeaten run in the league. A win would have lifted Arsenal into first place.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger blamed a number of factors: refereeing decisions, Evertons physicality, misfortune.In the end, it was poor marking from two crosses that proved Arsenals undoing.Leading through Alexis Sanchezs deflected free kick -- his 12th goal of the season -- Arsenal conceded an equalizer just before halftime when Evertons full backs combined, with Leighton Baines crossing for Seamus Coleman to head home unmarked in the middle of the area.Evertons winning goal also came from a curling cross into the area, with Williams rising unchallenged to meet Ross Barkleys corner. Williams last goal was also against Arsenal, back in March when the Wales defender was a Swansea player.Arsenal missed the presence and positioning of Shkodran Mustafi, the Germany center back who was injured in the 3-1 win over Stoke at the weekend and will be sidelined for the next three weeks. Arsenal has lost three matches this season -- twice in the league, to Liverpool and now Everton, and against Southampton in the League Cup -- and Mustafi didnt play in any of them.Wengers team also lacked spark going forward, which was surprising considering Arsenal arrived at Goodison Park in free-scoring form with at least three goals in each of its last three games. On tough nights like these, Arsenal also missed the creativity in central midfield of Santi Cazorla, who is also injured.Everton has been Arsenals most obliging opponent in the Premier Leagues 24-year history, with the Gunners winning the fixture 29 times annd with just one loss in the past 18 meetings.ddddddddddddNot this time. Not when the atmosphere is like it was in the final 10 minutes.We came back with great character, Everton manager Ronald Koeman said. If you show that aggression and commitment, it is difficult to beat Everton at Goodison Park.There was even room for Koeman to aim a little dig at Wenger following the Arsenal managers criticism of referee Mark Clattenburg. I am not surprised about Wenger and his comments, Koeman said. Its the third time in a row I won at home against Arsenal and three times in a row it was about the referee.There was one more match in the Premier League on Tuesday, with Leicester continuing its poor away form in its stuttering title defense:---BOURNEMOUTH 1, LEICESTER 0Marc Pughs 34th-minute goal consigned Leicester to a seventh loss in eight away games this campaign. The champions drew their other away game, at Tottenham.Leicester failed to build on its 4-2 win over Manchester City on Saturday, with Pugh scoring on the rebound after Benik Afobes shot was parried by goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.The result is too severe against us because we created more chances than Bournemouth, Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri said. I wanted a little more.Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe described his teams defensive effort in the second half as heroic.Leicester stayed in 14th and four points above the relegation zone, having played a game more than the teams below the Midlands club---WEDNESDAYS GAMESThe 16th round of games continues with first-place Chelsea looking to go six points clear with a win at last-place Sunderland.In other standout games, Manchester United visits Crystal Palace, Manchester City looks to recover from back-to-back losses in a home match against Watford, and third-place Liverpool travels to Middlesbrough. ' ' '
