Zach Ertz to Return to Philadelphia for a Chance at the Super Bowl

The ex-Stanford star has been a key piece all season for Washington, and will now have to take on his former team in order to punch his ticket to another Super Bowl.

Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86) celebrates a touchdown against Detroit Lions during the first half of the NFC divisional round at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One game away. Saturday marked a historic day for the Washington Commanders, who upset the Detroit Lions in the NFL Divisional round to earn their first trip to a conference championship since 1991. But for former Stanford Cardinal tight end, Zach Ertz, the chance to play in another conference title game and earn another Super Bowl trip will require him to travel to some rather familiar territory.

The Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Los Angeles Rams 28-22 on Sunday to secure the final NFC Championship game spot, will be the final team standing in the way of the Commanders goal of reaching the Super Bowl.

Ertz, who began his career with the Eagles and won a Super Bowl with them back in 2017, will go back to the stadium that he once starred in and look to keep the Cinderella run going for Washington.

Signed to a one-year deal prior to the season in order to bring a veteran presence to an offense led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, Ertz has been exactly what Washington has needed this year.

Originally coming in without having the expectation of making the team out of training camp, Ertz finished the regular season as the Commanders' second leading receiver behind Terry McLaurin, amassing 654 yards and seven touchdowns on 66 catches.

With Daniels a frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, Ertz has helped the No. 2 overall pick from the 2024 draft adjust seamlessly to the pro scene.

After a stellar career at Stanford that saw him earn numerous accolades, including the Ozzie Newsome Award in 2012, a unimous All-American in 2012 and a being a First-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2012, Ertz was drafted by the Eagles in 2013, where he eventually involved into one of the game's top tight ends.

Selected to three straight Pro Bowls from 2017-2019, Ertz won a Super Bowl with Philadelphia in 2017, finishing Super Bowl LII with seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Since leaving the Eagles, Ertz has been around the league, with stops in Arizona with the Cardinals and a stint on the Detroit Lions' practice squad before finding a role in Washington. But through that entire time, Ertz continued to grind and prove that he still had a lot left in the tank and could be a big asset to a team.

And now, with the Commanders only one game away from a Super Bowl appearance, and being only the fifth team since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to reach a conference title game after finishing with a bottom two record in the league the season before, Ertz can add even more glory to his elite resume by knocking off his former team en route to the Big Game.