Kirk Herbstreit has been blasted by fans after his comments surrounding Carson Wentz on Thursday Night Football.
As the Minnesota Vikings quarterback struggled to get his offense down the field in a crushing 37-10 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers, the veteran became visibly emotional and frustrated on the sidelines.
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Kirk Herbstreit’s criticism of Wentz was not well received by fansCredit: GETTY
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It was a rough outing for an injured Wentz and the VikingsCredit: Getty
In the fourth quarter and coming off the field after a night in which he had been sacked five times, and hit even more – which ultimately saw him replaced by Max Brosmer – Wentz could be seen slamming his helmet down before collapsing onto the bench with tears filling his eyes.
Herbstreit, who was calling the TNF clash alongside Al Michaels for Amazon Prime was left far from impressed by the way in which the Vikings QB – and former Super Bowl champion – handled himself.
“Obviously, it’s been a rough night, and he hadn’t had a lot of help,” he could be heard saying on the broadcast after the Vikings turned the ball over on downs.
“But to me, when you’re the captain of the ship, you’re the quarterback, you gotta try to hold some of that emotion in.
“And I know he’s frustrated, and he’s hurt, but it’s Week 7. There’s a long way to go and some of that is just raw emotion.
“If Justin Jefferson does that, it’s probably on SportsCenter, it’s everywhere on social media and it’s ‘what’s wrong with this guy?’ But if a quarterback does that, to me, it’s worse. Because like I said, you’re the guy. You’re the leader. You’re the alpha.”
Having been dropped back 32 times, and pressured an additional 13 times, Wentz – who was completely unshielded from the rampant Chargers defense – completed just 15-of-27 of his passes for 144 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Fans fume at Herbstreit’s comment about Wentz
In the contest, however, the 32-year-old was playing through a left shoulder injury, with the former No. 2 overall draft pick donning a brace on his non-throwing arm.
Thus, Herbstreit’s comments were not well-received by fans, who took to social media to voice their opinions on the Prime Video color analyst’s remarks.
“What a horrendous take,” one fan said on X (formerly Twitter). “Try playing out there with one arm. What a foolish thing to say. If anything it’s showing his team he’s fighting.”
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Carson Wentz was visibly emotional on the sidelines after being taken out of the game in the 4th qtrCredit: X/ @awfulannouncing
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Wentz threw his helmet in frustration at how the game panned outCredit: X@WillRagatz
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The o-line struggled to protect their QB, with Wentz being sacked five times on the nightCredit: Getty
“Kirk Herbstreit can shut up with that Carson Wentz shouldn’t show emotion BS right now. Man is playing through an intense amount of visible pain and has been getting killed all night,” a second echoed.
“He played on one arm while constantly under duress getting thrown to the wolves while the underwhelming golden boy gets protected. What a weird takeaway from tonight…wish I was surprised,” another fan commented.
“Did Kirk Herbstreit just say Carson Wentz should shield his emotions??!? This man been getting drilled all night. The team can’t figure it out, offensively AND defensively. Re-aggravating an injury on top of the team being bad right now,” a fourth user summated.
Other fans showed sympathy toward the 10-year veteran QB, with one fan posting: “Just feel awful for Carson Wentz on a human level. It feels legitimately irresponsible that he was allowed to play almost the entire game.”
The Vikings – who entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations – have now gone 2-3 with Wentz as the starter.
But, the expectation is that 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy’s – who is known for his secret ‘alter-ego’ and trademark warpaint -return to the gridiron is imminent, with him having been named as the emergency quarterback for the clash with the Chargers.
Nonetheless, the loss to the Chargers, with the Vikes defense allowing 419 total yards, will sting for a while.
“It’s a frustrated team right now,” Herbstreit added. “They’ll get an opportunity to try to correct a lot of wrongs after a mini-bye… but after the Philly [Philadelphia Eagles] game last week and the way they played tonight, it’s a lot of sombre looks down there for the Vikings.”
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