Zach Ertz scored the last Eagles postseason touchdown. He thought it was the first of many.
Instead, he's waited a few years for another chance.
The last time the Eagles were in the playoffs was 2013, and Nick Foles' three-yard touchdown pass to Ertz - then a rookie tight end - with 4:54 left in the game and Alex Henery's PAT gave the Eagles a 24-23 lead over the Saints at the Linc.
"It was a blur," Ertz says now. "Looking back on it, we thought we had the game won."
Alas.
Henery's line-drive kickoff was returnable and a soon-to-be Eagle returned it 39 yards. A Cary Williams horse-collar tackle on Darren Sproles added 15 more yards, and just like that, the Saints were within 15 yards of Shayne Graham field goal range.
"I scored with like five minutes left, and then Darren Sproles happened to be on the other team at that time," Ertz recalled.
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"We kicked the ball to him, got a horse-collar tackle and then we don't touch the ball again.
"The whole year was crazy. We won seven out of eight at the end of the year to put ourselves in position to go to the playoffs, win the NFC East against the Cowboys Week 17 and then the playoff game … it was everything you could imagine growing up.
"Playing at the Linc. The place was rocking. It was cold, but even looking back at it, it didn't seem as cold as it probably was just because I was so excited to be there."
That is the Eagles' only playoff game since 2011.
Until now.
Ertz is one of 10 Eagles who was on that 2013 team who will be on the field Saturday when the Eagles face the Falcons at the Linc in a conference semifinal playoff game.
The others are Brent Celek, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, Donnie Jones, Najee Goode, Brandon Graham and Foles.
"It's crazy," Ertz said. "It's been (four) years since I was in the playoffs. My rookie year. So I'm really excited. We're hungry to be in the playoffs again and finally get that first playoff win (since 2008) for the city.
"It's been a long time and each and every year not being in the playoffs has stunk. Being on the couch as the playoffs started has been a horrible feeling, so we're excited about this game. I know the fans will be rocking and the Linc will be rocking."
The Eagles are one of only 12 teams that didn't play a postseason game from 2014 through 2016.
"In college, you're always playing in big bowl games," said Ertz, who played at Stanford.
"I went to the Rose Bowl, I went to the Fiesta Bowl, I went to all the big games in college. I get here and my first year here, we go to the playoffs. So I'm thinking, ‘This is going to be every year.'
"Unfortunately, we were 10-6 the next year and don't make the playoffs and ever since then, it's kind of gone downhill. But I think now (we're) going to have sustained success, that's kind of the goal we have. But our most important goal is Saturday and the Falcons. We're excited about the opportunity and hopefully, we don't let it slide by."
Ertz made his first Pro Bowl this year and finished third among all NFL tight ends with 74 catches for 824 yards, despite playing the equivalent of only about 13 games.
Since 2013, his rookie year, he ranks fifth among all tight ends in catches, sixth in yards and ninth in touchdowns.
His 31 catches are sixth-most and 3,664 yards seventh-most of any tight end in NFL history after 75 games.
The one thing that's eluded him is a postseason win.
"Being in the league now for five years, I've only played one playoff game in five years," he said Tuesday.
"So throughout the years I've learned you can never take this opportunity for granted. I want to be in the playoffs each and every year and we haven't been in this situation very often in my career here, so guys are focused on this opportunity.
"We have a lot of veteran guys who haven't been here in a long time, and we're excited about it."
