Jordan Matthews closing in on 1,000 receiving yards

After Jeremy Maclin left the Eagles in free agency, Jordan Matthews said the team would not have a No. 1 receiver this season, utilizing a balanced receiving corps.

Fifteen games into the season, Matthews' prediction did not come true. He became the No. 1 receiver.

Matthews, a second-round pick in 2014, needs 57 receiving yards Sunday against the New York Giants to reach the 1,000-yard plateau. He would become the 13th player in franchise history to achieve that total. His 78 catches rank eighth on the Eagles' single-season list, and he needs seven catches Sunday to match Maclin's reception total from last season.

"When you're playing in the moment, there's so many other things that mean more that are going on right now, that for me to think, 'OK, I've got to get 1,000, that's the main goal,' that would be so selfish," Matthews said. "I think it's one of those things that when you get done, it's cool to look back and kind of see. But even then, it's kind of just over at this point."

The playoff elimination on Sunday and the dismissal of Chip Kelly on Tuesday cast a shadow over the season finale. But this will be the final impression the players will leave on the season.

"My whole purpose going into this game, honestly, is I want to put great plays on film and I want to go out and have our team end on a high note," Matthews said this week before Kelly's ouster. "If a thousand happens, it happens."

Matthews, who mostly plays from the slot, is in this position because of a recent hot streak. He has 263 receiving yards during the last two games. He averaged only 29.8 yards in his previous five games.

His production, while impressive, has been unsteady. More than 60 percent of his production has come in five games. He had lulls early and late in the season combined with big games.

"Truth be told, I should have been at a thousand yards, but I wasn't playing up to my standards, the coaches' standards, my teammates' standards," Matthews said. "But I was able to turn it around a little bit and at the end of the day, I look at it as my standard is not just 1,000 yards. I can go way higher than that."

Interim head coach Pat Shurmur said Matthews had "tremendous production" and that the receiver "learned something about being a pro" by how he dealt with drops and slumps this season. He added that Matthews also learned how to fight through injuries.

Matthews had a hand injury that he kept quiet about in October and a back injury that slowed him in early December.

"Everybody's hurt," Matthews said. "If you can't play, that's the only time there's something you really need to address. With my back, I thought I wouldn't be able to play. It was hard for me to move. . . . With my hand, I hurt it, it was sprained, it was just hard to grip, shake peoples' hands. But it didn't take me out of playing. . . .

"It was something difficult and I had to go over it. I needed some time. . . . I was able to get away [during the bye week], rest, those things. I came back, I was just a lot better, rejuvenated, a lot more healthy."

The other factor that Matthews said contributed to his late-season surge was familiarity with quarterback Sam Bradford. He felt a connection develop with Bradford by the Eagles' Week 9 win over Dallas, when Matthews caught a game-winning touchdown. Matthews would text message Bradford at 11 p.m. with something he observed on film.

He appreciated Bradford showing confidence in him after early-season drops. Matthews has been adamant about his desire for the Eagles to keep Bradford. He wants to grow with the same quarterback and hopes it's Bradford.

Matthews ranks 27th in the NFL in receiving yards and 16th in receptions. He said the league's top receivers have raised the bar such that the 1,000-yard mark is only the beginning of what he's chasing. And he is only in his second season, part of a receiving corps that's growing.

Matthews came into the NFL with Josh Huff in 2014, and he saw Nelson Agholor arrive as a first-round pick during the spring. The hope is that they develop together so that Matthews' production doesn't continue to be so far ahead of the others.

"I'm in a position just like Nelson, just like Josh," Matthews said. "It might seem different because of numbers, but I'm growing, too. . . . I'm still trying to be the receiver I want to be. But I know where I was at the beginning of the year is night and day how I feel mentally, physically, right now. The disheartening thing is it ends Sunday."

Cornerback Byron Maxwell (shoulder), defensive lineman Bennie Logan (calf), and wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu (ankle) have been declared out for Sunday's game. Cornerback Jaylen Watkins (shin) is questionable.

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm