Zach Ertz spent eight-and-a-half seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. During his time in Philly, Ertz caught 579 passes for 6,267 yards and 38 touchdowns for the Eagles. These days, Ertz is the starting tight end for the Washington Commanders, one of Philadelphia’s primary NFC East rivals.
When Ertz was traded during the 2021 season, Nick Sirianni was in his first year as head coach. Ertz was reportedly traded so the Eagles could feature Dallas Goedert as the primary tight end, allowing Ertz an opportunity to continue to serve as a starting tight end.
On Sunday, Ertz’s Commanders beat Sirianni’s Eagles. After the game, there was reportedly an altercation between Ertz and Sirianni, where Philadelphia chief security officer Dom DiSandro intervened.
Ertz was asked about the confrontation after the game and said the two were just exchanging pleasantries.
According to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, it was a little more than that. McLane first revealed the incident on the “unCovering the Birds” podcast.
Neither the Eagles coach nor the Washington tight end wanted to get into what happened afterward in Landover, Md. on Sunday, but their brief dust-up saw Ertz take exception to a comment Sirianni made about his performance in the game, sources familiar with the incident told The Inquirer.
This isn’t the first time Sirianni has caught the ire of others, including opposing players, fans, or even Philadelphia fans. McLane hinted that Sirianni’s frustration with his team’s performance boiled into the postgame. The losing coach is frustrated every week, but they don’t lower themselves like Sirianni continues to do.
It will certainly be interesting if the Eagles and Commanders meet in the playoffs, which they are currently scheduled to do if seeding remains the same through the final two weeks of the regular season.
What it boils down to is the Commanders, under new leadership and with a legit franchise quarterback now on the roster, are no longer pushovers.
