Sep 24, 2016 4 min read

Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz looks like a promising young quarterback.

The small-school product (North Dakota State) probably should have been taken by Cleveland in the first round of the draft, but the Browns, who signed Robert Griffin III in the offseason, thought they had their quarterback. So they traded out of the No. 2 spot in this year’s draft to move down and take wide receiver Corey Coleman instead.

The 6-5, 237-pound Wentz wasn’t supposed to be Philadelphia’s starter. He was going to spend time learning behind Sam Bradford. That idea went out the window when Minnesota, in need of a quarterback after Teddy Bridgewater was lost for the season with an injury, came offering a king’s ransom in a trade for Bradford.

Through two starts, Wentz has done a nice job of managing games, throwing three touchdown passes with no interceptions or fumbles.

The comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie season with the Steelers are easy to draw. Cleveland also passed on Roethlisberger in 2004 to instead take tight end Kellen Winslow because they had a veteran quarterback (Jeff Garcia) they thought was the answer to their long-standing issues at the position.

And at 6-5, 240 pounds, Roethlisberger and Wentz both have the size to play the position.

Neither was expected to start for their respective teams as a rookie, with Roethlisberger slated to back up Tommy Maddox in 2004. Maddox was injured at Baltimore in Week 2.

Both quarterbacks had plenty of success, as well, albeit a small sample size for Wentz. Roethlisberger won 15 starts in a row before losing to New England in the AFC Championship.

Heck, the two even share the same agent, Ryan Tollner.

But it’s probably a little early to call Wentz the second coming of Roethlisberger.

After all, his two victories have come against Cleveland and Chicago, two of the worst teams in the league.

Today, he’ll be stepping up in class when the Eagles host the Steelers.

The Eagles have done a nice job of protecting their young quarterback, running the ball an average of 33 times in two games. Philadelphia has struck a near 50-50 balance in run-pass ratio against a pair of popgun offenses.

That’s not going to get it done against the Steelers, who are allowing only 50.5 yards rushing per game.

Pittsburgh’s already high-powered offense will get wide receiver Markus Wheaton back for this game and that will only make a unit averaging 31 points per game better.

Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown each were not happy with how they played last week.

Pittsburgh is a 3 1/2-point favorite in Philadelphia, where it has not won since 1965, a span of eight games.

That streak won’t increase to nine.

The Steelers will force the young quarterback into errors and improve to 3-0.

Take Pittsburgh, 27-17

The Bears looked terrible last week against Philadelphia.

Take Dallas, 24-14

Despite being 2-0, the Ravens have not looked good. And Jacksonville won in Baltimore last season.

Take Jacksonville, 23-17

Quarterback Trevor Siemian gets his first road test. Cincinnati’s defense is nearly the equal of Denver’s.

Take Denver to cover in a 20-17 loss

A pair of Jekyl and Hyde teams. My initial pick was Atlanta, but given my slow start, I’ll go against my instincts.

Take New Orleans, 30-24

Bradford is going to have a more difficult time at Carolina.

Take Carolina, 31-20

The Colts continued their trend of starting 0-2. They’ll get a win in this one.

Take Indianapolis, 26-21

Amazing statistic of the week: Cleveland will be starting its fifth different quarterback in its past five games.

Take Miami, 24-6

The Seahawks can’t score, but they can play defense.

Take San Francisco to cover in a 13-7 loss.

The Raiders are allowing 517.5 yards per game. That would be a record or something.

Take Tennessee, 31-28

Todd Gurley is averaging 2.7 yards per carry. Tampa Bay is allowing 3.0 yards per rushing attempt.

Take Tampa Bay, 24-17

The Bills lost 37-31 last week and Rex Ryan fired his offensive coordinator. Yeah, that was the problem.

Take Arizona, 34-20

Arrowhead Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the league.

Take Kansas City, 24-20

I picked the Giants to win this division. So far, so good.

Take the Giants, 26-20

Aaron Rodgers is averaging just over 200 yards passing per game and has three TD passes. The Lions have allowed seven TD passes.

Take Green Bay, 31-23

Last week: 5-10 ATS; 8-7 Straight up

Overall: 10-20 ATS; 15-15 Straight up

Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.