The Washington Commanders' playoff hopes were already gone by Week 14, even if unofficially, but they hoped to start gathering some momentum for 2026 with Jayden Daniels back on the field Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Instead, everything that could go wrong, continued to go wrong.
After Daniels exited with an injury to the same left elbow he dislocated in November, veteran TE Zach Ertz was carted back to the locker room in tears after a massive hit to his leg. He is feared to have torn his ACL, per Ian Rapoport.
Here's a look at the hit that injured Ertz and the reaction from his Commanders teammates.
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Zach Ertz hit, explained
Ertz was attempting to bring down a pass from Marcus Mariota when he took a direct hit from Vikings safety Jay Ward's helmet to the right knee.
Ertz's leg bent awkwardly, sparking fears of serious ligament damage. While he was able to walk off the field with assistance, he required a cart to get back to the locker room and was emotional on the way back.
Just a brutal and questionable hit on
— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) December 7, 2025
Zach Ertz. If this is it, he goes down as one of the best pass catching TE in the history of the NFL pic.twitter.com/9ve3A5EP8P
Ward was not penalized for the hit, though fans were quick to criticize him for seemingly taking aim at Ertz's leg. Many severe leg injuries occur when a player's leg is planted, but Ertz was hit hard enough that his leg bent awkwardly while totally airborne.
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Zach Ertz injury update
Ertz is feared to have suffered a torn ACL, Dan Quinn said, according to Ian Rapoport.
The Commanders ruled Ertz out with a knee injury soon after the hit.
TE Zach Ertz (knee) is out pic.twitter.com/3FZNDnNHGK
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) December 7, 2025
Ertz will presumably still have to undergo tests in the next 24-48 hours, but the injury certainly has the look of one severe enough to keep him out for the final month of the season, with the possibility of a torn ACL.
If the injury is as severe as it looked in the moment, questions could shift to Ertz's NFL future. The former Pro-Bowler and Super Bowl champion has had a solid year for the Commanders, but 2026 would be his 14th season coming off what is potentially a major knee injury.
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How old is Zach Ertz?
Ertz turned 35 years old in November and is in his 13th NFL season.
Zach Ertz career stats
| Season | Team | Games | Rec. | Yards | TD | Y/R |
| 2013 | Eagles | 16 | 36 | 469 | 4 | 13.0 |
| 2014 | Eagles | 16 | 58 | 702 | 3 | 12.1 |
| 2015 | Eagles | 15 | 75 | 853 | 2 | 11.4 |
| 2016 | Eagles | 14 | 78 | 816 | 4 | 10.5 |
| 2017 | Eagles | 14 | 74 | 824 | 8 | 11.1 |
| 2018 | Eagles | 16 | 116 | 1,163 | 8 | 10.0 |
| 2019 | Eagles | 15 | 88 | 916 | 6 | 10.4 |
| 2020 | Eagles | 11 | 36 | 335 | 1 | 9.3 |
| 2021 | PHI/ARI | 17 | 74 | 763 | 5 | 10.3 |
| 2022 | Cardinals | 10 | 47 | 406 | 4 | 8.6 |
| 2023 | Cardinals | 7 | 27 | 187 | 1 | 6.9 |
| 2024 | Commanders | 17 | 66 | 654 | 7 | 9.9 |
| 2024 | Commanders | 13 | 50 | 504 | 4 | 10.1 |
| Career | 180 | 825 | 8,592 | 57 | 10.4 |
Ertz has 8,592 yards on 825 catches through 13 NFL seasons, with three Pro Bowl selections and one Super Bowl win as an Eagle.
Zach Ertz injury reaction
Mariota was seen comforting Ertz as the veteran sat on a cart after the injury.
Marcus Mariota comforted an emotional Zach Ertz on the injury cart 🙏
— ESPN (@espn) December 7, 2025
(📺 FOX) pic.twitter.com/zr4Cqopyhs
Ertz received plenty of support from his teammates after the injury, which only added to a demoralizing day for the Commanders on their way to an eighth consecutive loss.