3 noteworthy observations from Commanders preseason opener vs Panthers

1. Carson Wentz Looked Good

No, Wentz didn’t set FedEx Field on fire in his limited snaps, but he checked all of the boxes Ron Rivera mentioned in his pre-game presser, including consistency in the huddle, success with the plays that were called and just an all-around comfortability in the new offense.

Across three drives, Wentz finished 10-of-13 for 74 yards. Again, nothing crazy but mistakes were avoided and Wentz didn’t try to do much. He took what the defense gave him and spread the ball around to several pass catchers.

While Armani Rogers was his favorite target early on (the undrafted tight end drew three early targets), he completed passes to Terry McLaurin for 16 yards, JD McKissic for 15 yards and connected with Curtis Samuel a few times.

Wentz didn’t have to throw multiple touchdowns for his debut to be considered a success. What matters is he looked in full control of the offense.

The only mistake we can recall from Wentz was a dangerous pass over the middle that got Dyami Brown blown up. Wentz shouldn’t have put his receiver in that situation and cameras appeared to show him apologizing to Brown

We didn’t get to see as much as Wentz as we wanted, but Commanders fans should have nothing but positive things to say about their new quarterback.