The Philadelphia Eagles need Zach Ertz to end his slump against Steelers

The Philadelphia Eagles could really use a big game out of Zach Ertz.

After years and years of stability and consistency, 2020 has been quite the rocky season for Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. He got engaged in a very public contract dispute during the offseason (which bled into Week 1), and has since then struggled to really make an impact on the physical football field.

Despite being the Eagles unquestioned “number one option” within the offense, Ertz has logged just 19 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. Amongst all tight ends in the NFL, Ertz ranks 17th in terms of total receiving yards. For someone who is looking for top-3 TE money, that’s not ideal.

Now for what it’s worth, the Philadelphia Eagles roster is doing Ertz absolutely zero favors. The team has next to nothing at the WR position, leaving Ertz susceptible to double (and sometimes even triple) teams when he runs his routes. Even if he beats his man off the line of scrimmage, there’s almost always a safety lurking around ready to pick him up in coverage.

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However, this is Zach freakin’ Ertz we’re talking about. Heading into the 2020 season, almost everyone universally agreed that he was one of the best tight ends in all of football. He broke the NFL’s single season TE reception record back in 2018, and did so with a familiarly poor group of wide receivers surrounding him.

Down the stretch in 2019, the Philadelphia Eagles had complete no-names at wide receiver. The team literally had to re-sign Shelton Gibson to play prominent snaps in must-win ballgames. It didn’t seem to matter to Ertz, as he had big performances against both Washington and New York before getting his ribs cracked in half against Dallas (Week 16).

We saw signs of a re-emerging Ertz this year against the Bengals, as he went for 7 receptions and 70 yards. However, he stumbled right back into his struggles against the 49ers, logging just 9 yards on 4 catches while George Kittle exploded for 180+.

Again, this isn’t all on Ertz, he was getting absolutely draped by Niners defenders during last week’s matchup. However, Ertz has made it known (quite loudly if I may add) that he thinks he’s deserving of Kittle/Kelce money. For what it’s worth, those two aren’t disappearing for 9 receiving yards in a game, regardless of the circumstance.

Ertz is in a very tricky situation at the moment. He wants a new contract from a team that has no money, and a blossoming Dallas Goedert looked like the superior player earlier on this season. With Goedert now out for the foreseeable future with a broken ankle, Ertz had a wonderful opportunity to prove that he was in fact the TE1. Thus far, he’s failed to do so.

The Pittsburgh Steelers arguably have the best pass rush in all of football, so quick passes should be seen aplenty from Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense. If Ertz wants to start re-establishing himself as a top-5 tight end in all of football, he simply needs to find a way to consistently get open against the Steelers linebackers and safeties.