PHILADELPHIA -- Carson Wentz made an eventful NFL debut Thursday in the Philadelphia Eagles' preseason opener.
The No. 2 pick in this year's NFL draft took the field with just over a minute left in the first half. Head coach Doug Pederson said earlier this week that Wentz would not play until the second half.
Instead, Wentz stepped behind center as the Eagles prepared to run their two-minute offense.
"It was fun," Wentz said. "I got to go out there and run the two-minute drill. I haven't done a lot of that in practice. But I enjoyed that."
As he ran out with his teammates, Wentz raised his arm. It appeared that he was acknowledging the fans, who earlier had chanted "We want Wentz."
"No," Wentz said. "I was just giving the thumbs up to my coach. He asked if I could hear him in my helmet. I guess I'm not that cool."
Wentz threw 24 passes, completing 12 for 89 yards. He also threw an interception after driving the Eagles to the Tampa Bay 11-yard line.
"The ball sailed on me a little bit," Wentz said. "It got away from me. You can't do that, especially in the red zone. We got what we wanted, but I just have to be more accurate."
Wentz also made plays with his legs. That was by design, he said. The Eagles ran some naked bootlegs, giving Wentz the opportunity to roll out to his right and get away from the pass rush.
On one play, Wentz decided to pull the ball and take off on his own. He ran around left end and said he thought he had chance to score a touchdown. But Buccaneers safety Kimario McFadden slipped off a block and was suddenly right in front of Wentz. His hit sent Wentz flipping head over heels.
"I was worried I was going to land on my neck," Wentz said. "But I landed fine."
Wentz jumped up from that hit, but was slower to bounce back from a hit later in the game. He took a shot right in the ribs, which knocked the wind out of him, he said.
"It was hard to breathe for a minute there," Wentz said.
He stayed in the game and completed a pass on the next play.
On another run play, Wentz gave himself up, sliding after a gain of nine yards.
"That was the first time in my life I've ever slid," Wentz said.
