3 Eagles Players Who Must Step Up to Make Deep Playoff Run

The Philadelphia Eagles have navigated most of the challenges put in front of them on the way to their 10-1 record.

The Eagles sit on top of the NFC going into Week 13, and they essentially have a two-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings because of their Week 2 win over the NFC North side.

Holding on to first place is the task at hand for the Eagles in the final six regular-season games.

Most of the Eagles' challenges are internal because they have to replace safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and they have been dealing with the absence of tight end Dallas Goedert for the last two weeks.

Philadelphia needs some of its role players on both sides of the ball to step up, starting with the showdown against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, to prove it has a deep squad for the postseason and that it can handle any type of challenge placed in front of it.

Quez Watkins started to step up two weeks ago in the win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Watkins responded to his fumble versus the Washington Commanders with a touchdown catch and 31 receiving yards in Week 11.

Watkins found the end zone for the second straight week in the victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

The No. 3 wide receiver caught all eight of his targets from Weeks 9-11, and he hauled in three of his five targets versus the Packers.

Watkins has not been targeted as often as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but he has popped up in key moments over the last few weeks, and he helped fill the void in the passing game left by Dallas Goedert.

His importance in the passing game should grow, as the Eagles host Tennessee and then embark on a three-game road swing against the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys.

The pair of NFC East clashes during that road swing could prove how battle tested the Eagles offense is, or they could expose some potential flaws in the offense.

Watkins can help the Eagles avoid any potential lapses on offense by taking over games when Brown and Smith face increased attention.

The Eagles need a third consistent target to work with Jalen Hurts to combat any challenge presented by an opposing secondary, and if Watkins rises his production even more, they could be unstoppable on offense in those contests.

The Eagles still have a gaping hole in their offense from the Goedert injury.

Goedert was hurt at the end of the loss to the Commanders, and the Eagles have not properly replaced him, which has led to Watkins receiving more attention from Hurts.

Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra are not the pass-game answers to the Eagles' tight end woes, and they could lose out on playing time to Tyree Jackson in the coming weeks.

Jackson, a converted college quarterback, returned in Week 10 after his recovery from a torn ACL.

Jackson played 39 percent of the offensive snaps against Green Bay, and he was on the field for a few of the team's red-zone plays.

He has one notable outing in the NFL, which was a five-catch, 22-yard performance with a touchdown in Week 18 against Dallas last year.

Jackson could not build on the late-season performance because of his torn ACL, but he could be the difference now for the Eagles while Goedert is sidelined.

At 6'7", Jackson is the biggest target in the Eagles offense. He could come in handy in red-zone situations and across the middle when Brown, Smith and Watkins are not open.

Jackson's emergence in the passing game could lead to the Eagles having a more complete offense, and in the best-case scenario, they could have two massive red-zone targets in him and Goedert in the postseason.

Reed Blankenship made an immediate impact on the Eagles defense on Sunday.

The undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee used some fantastic coverage skills to anticipate a pass and intercept Aaron Rodgers.

Blankenship's interception came after C.J Gardner-Johnson, the NFL's interception leader, went down with an injury.

Gardner-Johnson is expected to miss some time with a lacerated kidney, and he could be officially headed to the injured reserve in the coming days.

Blankenship's performance on Sunday will likely mean the Eagles will try to replace Gardner-Johnson with their internal first choice.

That plan did not go well at defensive tackle when Jordan Davis went down with an injury. Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh were in brought in as free agents to solve that problem.

Philadelphia has to hope it does not need a late-season free-agent signing to plug the gap at safety and that Blankenship can carry over his performance from Sunday into the next few weeks.

Blankenship may not come up with a ton of interceptions, like Gardner-Johnson, but if he plays a solid few quarters of football, the Eagles secondary will be in good shape.