Philadelphia Eagles: Losing Dallas Goedert would be a disaster

In DeVonta Smith, the Philadelphia Eagles finally have a number one wide receiver.

After turning in his best game of the 2021 NFL season in Week 9, racking up 116 yards and a touchdown in the Birds’ ultimate loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Smith followed it up with another fantastic showing in Week 10, where he was once again the team’s top receiver and recorded his first career two-touchdown game as a pro.

If Smith continues along at this clip, he’s a shoo-in to become the Eagles’ first 1,000-yard receiver since Jeremy Maclin, as he’ll only need to average 57 yards per game over the final seven contests of the regular season to hit that mark, and finally provide Philly fans with a perimeter pass catcher’s jersey worth buying.

Well, speaking for all Philadelphia Eagles fans, let’s hope DeVonta Smith is able to hit that mark, as the team might just be without Dallas Goedert in Week 11, as he suffered a pretty nasty head injury versus the Denver Broncos that will surely send him through concussion protocol.

Losing Goedert would be a tough hurdle to clear for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ best plays early in their Week 10 bout against the Denver Broncos came on throws between Jalen Hurts and Dallas Goedert.

The connection, which has been incredibly fruitful for the Eagles so far this season, accounted for two catches for 28 yards in the first quarter, including an incredible 24 yarder that kept a pivotal drive alive and a fantastic catch on an out route spurned on by a Hurts throw away.

Surely this looked like a prototypical “Goedert Game,” one his agent would clip catches from in his pitch for a new contract from the team’s brass, but then disaster struck, and Nick Sirianni’s gameplan had to change.

Goedert, in an attempt to pick up extra yards on third-and-11, ran into triple coverage on his way to the sideline and took a particularly nasty hit from Justin Simmons that sent him into the blue tent and then back into the locker room with an “out” distinction next to his name for the remainder of the game.

In Goedert’s absence, the Eagles still threw a fair bit to their tight ends, with Jack Stoll earning three targets in only his 10th professional game, but the player many a fan eagerly waited to see make his NFL re-debut, Tyree Jackson, closed out the game catchless, with DeVonta Smith and the dynamic running backs duo of Boston Scott and Jordan Howard holding down the brunt of the team’s offensive efforts down the stretch.

I mean hey, when a quarterback only throws the ball a handful of times in the second half, what can you really expect?

If Goedert is gone for an extended period of time, or even just a game, the Eagles are going to need a player like Jackson to step his game up significantly, as they aren’t exactly rife with offensive talent, as their stat sheet will eagerly show you. The team will also likely opt to call up practice squad tight end Noah Togiai, who joined the team on October 10th after spending 2020 with the Indianapolis Colts.

Before you ask, no, the Eagles likely won’t turn to Richard Rodgers, as he’s already been called up from the practice squad twice and is only eligible to play for the team again if he’s promoted to the active roster a la Howard in Week 10. While that could conceivably happen, I sort of doubt it does unless a surprise player ends up on IR.

Alternatively, I guess the Eagles could turn to wide receivers not named DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, or Jalen Reagor for offensive production, but their other two active roster options, Greg Ward and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, have combined for three targets on the season and no player on the practice squad has garnered enough trust from the coaching staff to garner a chance to contribute on game day.

In summation, the Eagles routinely turn to Goedert for two reasons: He’s one of their two best receivers and one of their only two receivers who can consistently pick up yards in the short and intermediate part of the field. If he’s gone for one week or even longer, the Eagles are going to have to go back to the drawing board and rework their offense for the second time in a month.

Week 11 has been circled on many a Philadelphia Eagles fan’s calendar for some time because it marks the first game where Miles Sanders would be eligible to return from IR. Finally, the Eagles’ offensive attack would be whole, and they’d be able to come at the unsuspecting New Orleans Saints with a full deck of cards. Instead, fans will have to keep a close eye on the injury report during the week, as a game without Dallas Goedert is a whole heck of a lot harder to win than a game with him on the field. *sigh* at least we still have DeVonta Smith to root for.