Despite Loss To Chargers, Eagles' Jason Avant Has Career Day

There once was a wide receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles who wore No. 81 and would be unstoppable for opposing teams to defend.

While his time has come and gone in the City of Brotherly Love, the Eagles have to be satisfied with the latest performance of another wide receiver wearing the No. 81 jersey.

Before Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles WR Jason Avant had just 15 receptions for 198 yards in the eight games he's played so far during the 2009 season. In 46 games, he’s recorded 77 receptions for 910 yards and six touchdowns.

On Sunday, Avant had the best game of his four-year career, hauling in eight receptions for 156 yards in the Eagles 31-23 loss to the Chargers.

While the Eagles may have ended up on the losing side of Sunday’s game, they have to be satisfied with the performance of Avant against the Chargers considering he’s never been the go-to guy at wide receiver.

Throughout his career, Avant has been one of those wide receivers who always seemed to be under the radar. With the Eagles, he has always played with other wide receivers ahead of him, such as Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson. Even coming into this season, rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin was expected to be ahead of Avant on the team’s depth chart.

But Avant has managed to establish a reputation as a key player to throw to on third down. Throughout his career, he’s moved the chains on 14 of 17 third-down passes thrown to him by Donovan McNabb.

With the emergence of Jackson and Maclin as No. 1 and No. 2 wideouts, the Eagles could have a solid trio of receivers if they can find a way to use Avant in the offense like they did against the Chargers.

With running back Brian Westbrook suffering his second concussion of the season, the Eagles may need all of the extra help they can get on offense.

Dan Parzych Is the Eagles Fan Voice for NFLTouchdown.com