Carson Wentz showed all the qualities of a top quarterback in the Philadelphia Eagles' 22-21 comeback win over the New York Giants, according to coach Doug Pederson.
Philadelphia were on the brink of a fifth NFL defeat of the season in Thursday's contest as they trailed 21-10 with just over six minutes left to play at Lincoln Financial Field.
Wentz instigated the fightback for the injury-hit Eagles, leading a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and finishing 25-of-43 for 359 yards.
Pederson, who has resisted calls to bench Wentz this season, believes the 27-year-old is fast becoming one of the best around in his position.
"He's taking steps in the right direction to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league," Pederson said.
"Facing adversity down a couple of scores in the fourth quarter, he really hung in there.
"It wasn't maybe on the stat sheet things looked good, but there were some throws, and there were some decisions I think he would want back.
"But I'll tell you what, he's the leader of our team for a reason, and you saw that tonight, leading our team down there to get the two scores late in the game."
Brandon Graham sealed the victory by strip sacking Daniel Jones as the Eagles made it eight wins in a row against the Giants and moved into the driving seat in the NFC East.
Wentz, who missed a two-point conversion late on in Sunday's 30-28 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, was happy with the win a game in which his side were not always at their best.
"It was an ugly game," he told FOX Sports. "It was an ugly game, and we left a lot of points out there, lot of plays.
"But to stay in it, keep believing and keep fighting, and pull it out, I'm proud of these guys.
"This was a huge one for us. It's obviously not been the start to the season that we're looking for.
"But the NFC East is wide open, and we've got a lot of divisional games coming up, so this was a big one for us."
The Giants had not previously lost a game they had led by 11-plus points in the fourth quarter since going down 38-31 to the Eagles in December 2010.
Head coach Joe Judge is keen to move on from the remarkable collapse with the visit of Tampa Bay Buccaneers up next.
"The focus is not frustration," he said. "The focus is on correcting mistakes and moving forward and that's where we have to steer it as a team."