Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O zero admits that he received substantial criticism among the fans after retaining an injured Carson Wentz in the loss of 37- 10 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night.
Since Carson Wentz won over Cleveland Browns in Week 5, Wentz has been struggling with a shoulder injury and was restricted in practice prior to the game. Nonetheless, O’Connell made him the starter, which was not well received by most fans after the setback of the quarterback was evident.
In the course of the game, it seemed that Carson Wentz was actually suffering as he attempted to pass the ball off the defense of the Chargers. Following the defeat, there was an outburst of social media with fans terming the move by O’Connell to be reckless and insensitive.
The arm of Carson Wentz is on the verge of falling and Kevin O’Connell does not want to remove it. This is elder abuse, some fan wrote on X (former Twitter). Another one said, disgusting to see KOC continuing to trot out Wentz. Totally hypocritical.”
Some others were worse still: “Coaching malpractice, posted one fan, another said, Leaving him in that blowout was unwatchable. I have never switched off a football game in dismay before.
Carson Wentz completed the game with 15 out of 27 passes of 144 yards and one touch down and one interception. He was fired five times too as the defense of the Chargers heaped the pressure on him.
The old soldier was too excited to be seen after the match and threw his helmet to the floor, followed by wrapping a towel over his face as he sat in the bench. Cameras even filmed what seemed like tears streaming down his eyes as frustration spilled out.
Wentz was the new starter to Minnesota earlier this season after the rookie J.J. McCarthy suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2. It has been reported that McCarthy might be back in the upcoming week against Detroit Lions. Otherwise, O’Connell might be forced to resort to a rookie backup in the form of Max Brosmer to stabilize the team offense.
In the meantime, however, the fans are venting their hatred on O’Connell who is now required to answer questions why Wentz was not taken off with a broken foot, and allowed to play on the one side, in pain.
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