Jahan Dotson gets last laugh following first TD catch with Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are off and running in the NFL playoffs.

Three plays after Oren Burks forced a fumble on the game’s opening kickoff, quarterback Jalen Hurts, with all day to throw, calmly found wide receiver Jahan Dotson in the back of the end zone to put Philly on the board less than 2 minutes into Sunday’s wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at the Linc.

The significance? It was Dotson’s first touchdown reception since he was acquired by the Eagles via trade back in August.

The former first-round pick of the Washington Commanders played in all 17 games for the Eagles during the regular season, but he managed just 19 catches for 216 scoreless yards. He piled up 94 of those yards in Week 18, as the Eagles rested their top starters against the New York Giants in preparation for the playoffs.

Dotson has filled one of the more inglorious roles in the NFL this season, as the No. 3 wide receiver has never received a ton of volume in head coach Nick Sirianni’s tenure. With superstars like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert at the skill positions, Dotson saw just 33 total targets in 674 total offensive snaps in 2024.

It’s a huge credit to Dotson to fill that role, ignore the constant outside noise over his lack of production, and still be ready seize the moment in the biggest game of the season.

MORE: Eagles list of inactives is bad news for Packers in wild-card playoff game