How Eric Rowe shut down Zach Ertz and got payback against the team that dumped him
.JPG "Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz can’t hold onto a would-be touchdown pass Sunday because of an excellent play by Dolphins safety Eric R")
All week, Dolphins safety Eric Rowe kept repeating a name like a monk chanting a mantra.
Zach Ertz. Zach Ertz. Zach Ertz.
Rowe’s focus paid off Sunday. The Dolphins safety did more than simply hold his own against his former teammate and the Eagles’ stud tight end. He shut him down.
Ertz had just three catches for 24 yards in the Dolphins’ 37-31 victory.
The most important number in Ertz’s stat line? Zero. As in zero touchdowns.
And no one had more to do with that than Rowe, who made the day’s biggest defensive play during an afternoon filled with offensive fireworks.
Rowe ripped a would-be touchdown from Ertz’s grasp with the Dolphins up 9 with two and a half minutes left in regulation. As a result, Philadelphia kicked a field goal on that drive and was left with nothing but a Hail Mary attempt on the game’s final play, an attempt that failed.
In a jubilant Dolphins locker room after the game, Rowe took us through his touchdown-saving play.
“It was a really good play-call,” Rowe said. “Kept me outside leverage. I saw [Ertz] was running a [corner route]. I was kicking myself. I should have just looked. I probably would have had a pick. Then had a half-second thought, ‘Play to the hands.’ I thought he had it. I missed the first one. I was like, ‘Aw, s---.”
But Rowe stayed with it after missing the ball at the top, and ripped the ball from Ertz’s grasp before the tight end could tuck it away. That earned the praise of many on social media, including former Steelers safety Ryan Clark.
“Eric Rowe with a great finish in the end zone on Zach Ertz,” Clark tweeted. “Played through the hands more than once in the same play.”
The play and win were doubly sweet for Rowe, who began his career with the Eagles. He not only beat the team that gave up on him after just one season, he got a bit of payback against the (same) team that he lost to in Super Bowl 52 as a member of the Patriots.
“I don’t want to say revenge game, but it does feel good,” said Rowe, who finished with five tackles. “Wish I did it the first time a couple of years ago, it don’t matter what time. Do it now.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 6:10 PM.
