The anticipation had been building for weeks and when Carson Wentz emerged from the tunnel on Sunday afternoon the home crowd of 69,696 faithful football fans let him know how much they appreciate having him back as the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The more than nine-month wait was finally over.There was rousing applause and stomping of feet but it was time to get down to business. The visiting Indianapolis Colts had minds made up to spoil the return of Wentz and it looked as though the home crowd would go home disappointed.

They might have if defensive end Derek Barnett hadn’t sacked Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck in the waning moments and preserved the 20-16 inter-conference win. The Colts had a fourth-and-three on the Eagles five-yard-line when Luck dropped back, he started to run to his right and Barnett tripped him up. For a second or two, it looked like Luck might regain his balance and get the pass off. But he hit the ground at the 21 and then slammed his fists out of frustration several times into the turf..

The crowd roared its approval but the game wasn’t over. The Eagles took over on downs and went three-and-out which left the Colts with one more chance. A desperation Hail Mary pass by the backup quarterback reached the end zone but fell incomplete. The Eagles improved their record to 2-1 and the Colts dropped to 1-2. By winning, they kept pace with Washington who beat Green Bay. Dallas and New York round out the East Division. The Cowboys lost to go 1-2 and the Giants got in the win column and are also 1-2.

There were subplots going into the game that would’ve made a Hollywood screenwriter jealous with envy. Frank Reich is the first-year coach of the Colts and was offensive coordinator of the Eagles under head coach Doug Pederson when they won the Super Bowl last season. Reich knew the tendencies of the Eagles but the Eagles also knew what he liked to do. Jim Schwartz, Eagles’ defensive coordinator, was also well aware of Reich’s ability to devise an offensive gameplan.With Reich as offensive coordinator, the Eagles averaged more than 30 points a game until Wentz got hurt last December.

Wentz tore his ACL against the Los Angeles Rams in a game won by the Eagles. Based on his play, Wentz is healed from his injury and played like his old self. He was 25-for-37 for 255 yards and a touchdown. The only mistakes were an interception and a fumble recovered by the Colts in Eagles’ territory.The Eagles defense held following both turnovers and the Colts had to settle for two field goals.

But the statistics tell only part of the story. The statistics don’t tell about the leadership Wentz exuded as he led the Birds on a game-winning drive that took up most of the fourth quarter. Starting on their own 25-yard-line and down by 3, 16-13, Wentz and the Eagles marched down the field in 11:18 for a touchdown that was capped by a four-yard run by Wendell Smallwood. They were ahead and stayed ahead, even though there were anxious moments at the end.

Next up for the Eagles is a road trip to Tennessee for a 1 p.m. Sunday inter-conference game. The Titans are 2-1 and tied for first with Jacksonville in the AFC South Division.