How Washington Commanders' TE Can Impact Game Against Detroit Lions
Zach Ertz can still ball. All season long, the former Stanford tight end has shattered expectations, going from facing an uphill battle just to make the team out of the preseason to being one of the brightest offensive stars for the Washington Commanders.
Helping the team clinch its first playoff berth since 2020, Ertz unleashed his full veteran leadership and helped Washington beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round for the franchise's first playoff win since 2005.
But now that the Wild Card is over, the real test will be this coming week when the Commanders travel to Detroit to take on the No. 1 seeded Lions, pitting the NFC's, and possibly the NFL's, best team against the up and coming Commanders. And because of the magnitude of it, Ertz could find himself earning an increased role.
Only catching two passes for 23 yards in the 23-20 win over the Buccaneers, Ertz did not get much action in the passing game as opposed to some of the previous weeks. Much of that can be attributed to the big games from Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown, but it can also be attributed to situational factors, as towards the end of the game when it was tied 20-20, the Commanders started to run the ball more exclusively in order to get into field goal range while running the clock down so that they could win in the final seconds.
But things may be different against Detroit. The Lions offense, led by potential head coach candidate Ben Johnson, were the NFL's highest-scoring offense in the regular season, scoring a total of 564 points.
In fact, this year's Lions scored the fourth-most points in an NFL regular season. That in itself could point to a higher scoring game, which will force both teams to keep passing even as it gets later in the game.
That is when Ertz comes in. While McLaurin is the surefire No. 1 receiver and Dyami Brown is coming off of a dominant game, Detroit's defense will look to limit their damage and force rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to be more creative.
Ertz, who ended the regular season with 66 catches for 654 yards and seven touchdowns and was second on the Commanders in all receiving categories, may be a beneficiary from the inevitable tight coverage of McLaurin and Brown.
But one factor that could also limit his production is Detroit's strong ability to defend tight ends. On the season, the Lions have allowed around 665 receiving yards to opponents tight ends, which is among the best in the league.
The Lions run a 4-2-5 man coverage defense, with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn putting a heavy emphasis on taking away easy passes. A player like Ertz who is capable of stringing together a big game at any moment will most likely result in Detroit doing its due diligence to suppress his production as much as possible.
The NFL season is starting become as cutthroat as ever with the field of contenders starting to shrink, and with a team like the Lions pining to get over the hump and make a Super Bowl run, Ertz could very well end up being a real difference maker if the Commanders hope to be a darkhorse team.