Dallas Goedert didn't want to talk about the catches or the yards or even the touchdown.
He wanted to talk about the blocking.
Because everybody always knew he could catch the football. Nobody knew he could block.
Not like this.
Goedert, the Eagles' rookie tight end, was 7 for 73 with his first career touchdown Sunday in the Eagles' 20-16 win over the Colts at the Linc.
But he also blocked his butt off.
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"I didn't block a ton at San Diego State, just because it wasn't what they had me doing," he said. "But I aways knew I could block so I wasn't too worried about it. I think I proved a lot of people wrong today."
Goedert became the first Eagles rookie tight end with 73 yards in a game since L.J. Smith in 2003 and the first with 73 yards and a TD since Keith Jackson in 1988.
After getting just 17 snaps against the Falcons and 17 against the Buccaneers, Goedert got 55 Sunday against the Colts.
"The biggest thing is I'm not going to be on the field if I can't block, and I think I showed I can do that pretty well today," Goedert said. "The catches will come."
Count Zach Ertz as someone who believes Goedert needs to play a lot.
"We need him to develop, that's the bottom line," Ertz said. "We need him to have a role. He's a really good football player, and it helps us."
There were two reasons Goedert played so much Sunday. The Colts play a lot of cover 2, which leaves the middle of the field open, and that's where tight ends do most of their work.
But also he's just a good young player and Pederson felt like he deserved more playing time. Especially with the Eagles down a ton of running backs and receivers.
"He's earned it," Pederson said. "He's smart. He's talented. We see it in practice. It's just time to play and cut him loose a little bit and don't keep him back.
"It was part of the game plan again to do that with two tight ends, three tight ends, but at the same time, as he gets more and more comfortable with the offense and (we) find specific plays for him, he's just going to get better and better."
Goedert had only one catch for four yards the first two weeks of the season, but on Sunday, he and Ertz became the first pair of Eagle tight ends in 53 years with 70 or more yards in the same game.
"I think with Dallas, he's shown me, first of all, he's a smart football player," Carson Wentz said. "Throughout training camp and then being able to do the no-huddle stuff and getting him in different situations and getting him in different spots, making calls at the line, checks at the line.
"He's very instinctive and a good football player, and he came up big with a couple of plays."
Ertz is still the No. 1 guy, and he's off to another big start, with 21 catches for 215 yards in three games.
But if Goedert keeps playing like this, make no mistake about it, he will play.
A lot.
"I never know when my number's going to be called, but I'm always going to be ready," he said. "Today we used tight ends a lot. Depending on the week that might change, but it was fun to be out there.
"Obviously I want to be on the field but my chance was going to come. Whether it was this week, next week or in a year."
