Philadelphia Eagles: Time for Torrey Smith to step up on offense in NFC Championship

With a trip to Super Bowl 52 on the line, it’s time for Torrey Smith to step up for the Philadelphia Eagles in the passing game.

After all of the doubt and uncertainty, the Philadelphia Eagles will find out Sunday night if they have what it takes to represent the NFC in Super Bowl 52, as they host the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship. When looking at all of the injuries over the months ranging from Carson Wentz to Jason Peters, plenty of football fans doubted the Eagles would be able to pull off the unthinkable by being in this position, but here they are.

While the defense has carried this team for the most part over the last month for their stellar play, the only chance Philadelphia is going to have at taking down a highly talented team like Minnesota is if key members of the offense step up. And while players like Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz will receive most of the attention from the Vikings on defense, one member of the Eagles that could end up making a huge difference is Torrey Smith.

As soon as last season came to an end, Philadelphia made it a priority to improve their weapons for Wentz to work with after seeing some of the struggles experienced as a rookie, and even though his numbers from the regular season could have been better, Sunday’s game against Minnesota is the perfect opportunity for the veteran to breakout. All year, Smith has been one of those receivers who always seems to be trying to get involved on offense, but struggled to make that much of an impact.

Between his veteran experience along with his blazing speed, it’s easy to understand why Philadelphia was excited to bring Smith on board in free agency when they did, especially since the potential to be a reliable deep threat for this offense. But after only catching 36 passes for 430 yards with two scores during the regular season, it’s easy to understand why Smith has been frustrated for the most part over his lack of impact.

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With that being said, Philadelphia’s Divisional Round win over the Atlanta Falcons was the perfect example of what Smith can bring to the table after not only finishing the game with three catches for 39 yards, but also drew a key 42-yard pass interference penalty on the opening drive. If Smith can make more plays like this against the Vikings, the Eagles will have a much better chance at advancing to their first Super Bowl since 2005.