By Paul Macrie, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
It didn't take long for Eagles rookie Carson Wentz to build chemistry with tight end Zach Ertz in Sunday's season-opening win against the Cleveland Browns.
Ertz was targeted seven times by Wentz, the second most on the team, and he caught six of those passes for 58 yards. It was an encouraging start for the fourth-year tight end, other than the fact he continues to struggle to find the end zone — only nine career scores.
On the opening drive of the game on Sunday, Wentz tossed a beautiful ball to the right sideline to Ertz, recognizing one-on-one coverage on the outside. Browns' defensive back Jordan Poyer was in decent position, but the ball was placed perfectly to Ertz who helped out his rookie quarterback with a nice diving catch. Ertz hauled in another catch on that drive just shy of the red zone, and later on in the contest was the recipient of perhaps the biggest moment of the game, a catch right at the first-down marker on a fourth down play.
Despite those positives, sometime during Sunday's game, Ertz sustained a displacement of his first rib on his left side. He played through the injury, as his adrenaline likely prevented him for feeling the severe pain. Monday's announcement during head coach Doug Pederson's day after press conference suggested that he will be "week-to-week" with the ailment.
The Inquirer's Zach Berman added more clarity to the situation on Tuesday, stating he could miss "a significant period of time" with the injury that he can simply not play through, even if he apparently did during at least a portion of Sunday's win.
If Ertz is to miss multiple games with this rib injury, it will be a blow to the Eagles offense. The talented tight end was a reliable pass catching target in Week 1, and the sky was the limit for this quarterback-tight end duo. Now, Brent Celek will receive more opportunities at the position, and Trey Burton, who didn't play in Sunday's game with a calf injury, will be inserted into the lineup and should have a role in the upcoming game on Monday night against the Chicago Bears.
Can Celek and Burton replace Ertz's production? It is a very good possibility they can combine for at least 60 yards in Monday night's contest, but Ertz adds a different dimension to the offense. He has become a reliable option in crucial conversion situations, and he can create mismatches with linebackers and safeties because of his size.
Celek hasn't been a big part of an offense from a pass-catching standpoint since 2009, and Burton is more of an "H-back" that can be very useful in the red zone, but maybe not between the 20s.
The Eagles offensive braintrust will have to get even more creative without Ertz. Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich came up with a solid game plan in Sunday's win against Cleveland. Wide receiver Jordan Matthews and Ertz were a significant part of the offense and aided in Wentz's impressive debut under center.
For an offense that lacks depth at the skill positions, they can ill-afford to lose a player like Ertz for a lengthy period of time. It is possible that will be the case.
Matthews was targeted 14 times in Week 1, and it will be difficult to ask more from the third-year wideout. The running game will need to step up even more in Week 2 if they are to have similar success to the opening game. The Eagles ran the ball 34 times, but only at a 3.9 yards per attempt clip. That will need to improve with Ertz's absence.
Wentz only needed one full week of first-team reps to find a rapport with several offensive weapons. The kid seems to have a special knack to adapt to any situation. He may very well find a way to overcome the loss of Ertz by getting additional options involved.
Either way, it will impact the landscape of the offense heading into Chicago, and it will force the coaching staff to seek other ways to spread the ball around, running and passing.
