PHILADELPHIA – Lane Johnson and Zach Ertz were the Eagles’ 1-2 punch in the 2013 NFL Draft, with Johnson arriving as the fourth overall pick, Ertz the 35th.
They won a Super Bowl together four years later. Now, one will return. It can’t be both, because Ertz now plays for the Washington Commanders, who will come to Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC Championship Game.
A win, and Johnson, the Eagles' longtime right tackle, will make his third Super Bowl, where he is 1-1. Ertz is trying to get to his second Super Bowl, where he is 1-0.
“Zach has been a close friend for a long time,” said Johnson. “We’ve had some distance the past few years, but I always have love for him. We text a lot during training camp. We haven’t texted this week, but Zach is always an intense competitor and I always appreciated that about him. …it’s different seeing him over there.”
Ertz will never be forgotten in Philadelphia. He spent nine years with the Eagles and always wore his emotions on his sleeve, never afraid to let them show, whether they were tears of joy after two pivotal plays in Sup Bowl LII that helped deliver the Eagles their first Lombardi Trophy in 2018, or when he bid a tearful farewell after being traded to the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 15, 2021.
He is probably the best tight end to ever wear an Eagles uniform.
“When the whistle blows it’s not gonna be about the previous nine years that I had there,” he said. “It’s gonna be about trying to make as many plays as I can for this team as possible, whether that’s in the run game or the pass game, but I’m not going out there with a chip on my shoulder or trying to prove people x, y, or z. I’m just going out there trying to be the best version of myself.”
Ertz isn’t the first in line standing in his former team’s way. Now 34, he isn’t the same player he was when he caught a critical fourth-and-one pass to keep alive a drive that led to the winning touchdown that beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl and, oh by the way, caught that winning touchdown pass that took the lead back after New England had just forged ahead in the fourth quarter.
Still, he is one of quarterback Jayden Daniels’ favorite targets and has made 66 catches for 654 yards with seven touchdowns this season.
“Obviously I’m not playing 90 percent (of the snaps) like I used to but it’s a good percentage and I feel like I’m used effectively and I try to make an impact,” said Ertz. “It’s not the volume for me anymore, I’ve had all the stats I need to have, it’s just about making an impact however I can.”
Ertz has had a sort of career rebirth. Injuries had begun to pile up on him. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 10 of the 2022 season, just months after signing a three-year contract extension with the Cardinals. In October of 2023, a quadriceps injury ended another season. He asked for his release and his wish was granted.
“I don’t think there was a point where I was like, man, I’m gonna retire, this is probably it, but I do think that those thoughts of, ‘Are you still the same player?’ creep in when you have a year like last year that was extremely difficult.
“You come back from the knee injury probably a little too early and then you’re out of the league for eight weeks, however long it was, and the film probably wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. So, it was like, are you gonna be the same player when you come back?”
The Commanders took a chance on him, signing him to a one-year deal in late March last year and now he’s one win away from going back to the Super Bowl.
“Everyone knows how I feel about the people in that (Eagles) building, the people in that community,” he said. “Our (Ertz Family) foundation is still out there doing work for a reason, but at the same time I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure that we’re giving ourselves a chance to win the football game.”
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