Eagles TE Zach Ertz may be in for a long day against Lions defense
Zach Ertz may be one of the top pass catchers in the NFL, but the young tight end may be in for a long day against the Lions’ defense.
The Philadelphia Eagles will look to get back in the win column against the Detroit Lions this Sunday. With the injuries piling up (especially on offense) through the first two games, the team will lean heavily on the remaining veterans for leadership and production. One such veteran will be Zach Ertz, but there’s just one thing
So far in 2019, the Lions have made it difficult for the opposing team’s tight end to rack up any receiving yards.
Injury woes become predictable throws
As was mentioned above, the Eagles have been hit hard by the injury bug so far in 2019. DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, and Dallas Goedert all missed last Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons with injuries and heading into this Sunday, the Eagles will likely be without all three again.
In a Friday morning press conference, Coach Pederson said that he was ‘optimistic’ about Jeffery and Goedert, but it isn’t a certainty that eother one will play. That leaves Ertz as the Eagles’ biggest receiving threat.
Most have known that for a while, which means a big focus for the Lions this week will probably be attempting to shut down the young tight end. Now you can argue that Ertz being targeted more could increase his production, but before you make that assumption, you might want to consider something.
The Lions’ defense is stingy when it comes to tight ends
During the first two games of the 2019 NFL season, in games versus the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, the Lions’ defense has given up a whopping three catches for 29 yards and zero touchdowns to tight ends. Granted this is a small sample size, and the two teams that they have played so far have not had a tight end the caliber of Zach Ertz, but it is still an impressive stat line.
If you take it a step further, you could factor in all of the passing yards allowed by the defense, versus passing yards that have been racked up by the tight ends. Through the first two games, the Lions have allowed 601 yards through the air, and only five percent of that has been to a tight end. The Eagles will need to get creative.
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The Lions’ defense has been great against tight ends so far this season, but again, we are only two games into a long campaign. They haven’t had to match up against a tight end of Ertz’s skill level yet, and there is a chance that he puts up some solid numbers. Still, given what we have seen so far, the Eagles will need to get creative if they want one of their top playmakers to make a serious impact on this game.