PHILADELPHIA — Eagles tight end Zach Ertz set an NFL record for most catches in a single season by a tight end on Sunday.
He entered Sunday’s game against the Texans with 101 catches, nine behind his idol, Jason Witten, for the top spot, and quarterback Nick Foles targeted Ertz early and often in Sunday’s must-win game against Houston.
Ertz racked up nine catches for 56 yards and a touchdown before intermission to tie the record, and broke it with a 9-yard reception on the opening series of the third quarter.
Witten, now an analyst for ESPN, tweeted his well-wishes to Ertz before the game ended, writing:
Congratulations to @zertz_86 on breaking my single season receptions record!!
Job well done 👍🏼— Jason Witten (@JasonWitten) December 23, 2018
“He’s having a great year,” Witten said earlier this month. “We all have points in our career where you just get in the zone. When I watch him on tape, I can tell he’s doing things the right way. He’s advanced as a route runner, using his stems, leverage, things like that to get open.”
That skill set was developed in part by dissecting Witten’s game. Ertz closely watched Witten growing up and studied his game even more intensely once he got in the pros.
“He was the guy I was always watching because it seemed like third down, he was always getting his number called and he was always attacking leverage, and so I really just modeled my game after him,” Ertz said.
Witten only gave his jersey to an opposing player postgame once in his career, and that was to Ertz.
Ertz, 28, surpassed Brian Westbrook’s mark for most receptions in a single season in team history with his 90th earlier this month against Washington.