Trey Burton Flourishes in Place of Injured Zach Ertz

Trey Burton didn’t do anything Monday night he hasn't done every day since he got to Philly.

Catch everything thrown his way.

Only this time it counted.

“He did a great job,” Brent Celek said. “But he only did what he’s been doing for a long time. You see it every day. It just so happens he’s doing it in the game now, which is great.”

Burton has made a name for himself since arriving in Philly as an undrafted free agent in 2014 by excelling on special teams. But with Zach Ertz out with a displaced rib, Burton got his first extended playing time at tight end Monday night when the Eagles faced the Bears at Soldier Field.

He certainly made the most of his chance with five receptions for 49 yards and his first NFL receiving touchdown.

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“Really excited,” Burton said. “Studied a lot of film, but didn’t really do much different this week, but was excited I got a chance to make a couple plays.”

Burton entered the game with three career receptions in 31 games. He matched that in the first half.

“It means a lot,” Burton said. “There’s still a lot of things that I really need to improve on to in order be a guy that plays a lot on the offensive side of the ball.

“For me, I can’t let it take away from playing special teams as well. Because I really enjoy playing special teams and I have a lot of fun with that too.

“Bottom line I have two great guys in front of me, really good pros, unbelievable players on the field and even better guys off the field. Really makes it fun to come to work every day.”

Burton, who missed the opener against the Browns with a calf injury, showed tremendous chemistry with Carson Wentz right from the get-go Monday night.

In fact, three of Wentz’s six-longest passes against the Bears went to Burton – two 14-yarders and an 11-yarder.

“Trey did a great job,” Wentz said. “Ertz is a heck of a player and he’s great with this offense, but we knew Trey would be ready and we were confident in him and he came out and had a good night.

“You got to love those touchdowns, and you don’t have to give him much, he just walks right in. We had all the confidence in the world with him and I thought he did a good job.”

Burton scored a touchdown in 2014 on a blocked punt return against the Giants, but his two-yard TD was his first career touchdown reception.

He became the first undrafted Eagle tight end to score on a touchdown pass since Mike Bartrum in 2005. He also became the first Eagle to score on both a blocked punt return and a reception since Hall of Famer Pete Pihos in 1947.

“Celek and Tobin did a really good job kicking their guys out and basically I just take three steps and come back to the ball and catch it,” Burton said.

“Just gotta get a couple yards, and it worked really well. When we went into our three tight end set on the goal-line -- because we used Tobin as a tight end this week -- we knew they’d bring a lot of big guys in, so we knew we wanted to shoot it out to the perimeter, and it worked really well.”

At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Burton doesn’t have the size and strength that guys like Celek and Ertz have, so you’re not going to line him up on the line of scrimmage and ask him to block anyone.

But he has a set of hands. He never drops anything. And he can run.

“His athleticism, his speed (are his strengths),” coach Doug Pederson said. “I talked about it all spring, through OTAs and camp, about how fortunate we are to have three tight ends. I’m still waiting to have all three out on the football field.”

Burton wound up as the Eagles’ second-leading receiver in the Eagles' 29-14 win Monday night, behind only Jordan Matthews. Celek started and got a lot more snaps (53 to 31), but Burton had a huge impact on the game.

“I’m happy for him,” Celek said. “We’ve seen it every day in practice for three years. Sink to your level of training, and he does that.”

Burton’s 49 yards are the most by an Eagles tight end not named Brent Celek or Zach Ertz since Clay Harbor had 52 in a game against Tampa in 2012 – Nick Foles’ first career win and Andy Reid’s last win in Philly.

In his first game with Wentz, the two looked like they’ve been playing together for years.

“I think it goes back to the way he works and how much film he watches,” Burton said.

“He expects us to catch the ball and get to the spots and beat our man. He tells us all the time, ‘Win. Just win.’ That’s what I like about him. He doesn’t care how you win, just win. As long as you’re on time and where he wants and where he needs so he can get the ball out, it’ll work well.

“Bottom line, I’m supposed to run to the spot and he’s supposed to throw it there. At the end of the day, it’s not that big of a deal. He wants us to get open, and if you get open, you’re going to get the ball.”

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