PHILADELPHIA – Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett has seen limited action this season, mostly appearing in mop-up duty when games were already decided. Those moments allowed him to stay sharp. With starting quarterback Jalen Hurts ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, Pickett finally got his chance to start, marking his first start since Dec. 3, 2023, when he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pickett’s backup, Tanner McKee, had also never played in a regular-season game. Together, the two quarterbacks formed an unlikely duo to lead the Eagles to an NFC East title. On Sunday, they combined for 197 net passing yards in the Eagles’ 41-7 win, clinching the division and ensuring the team will finish no lower than the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Pickett completed 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards, including a touchdown to wide receiver DeVonta Smith, and added a rushing touchdown. However, his day ended in the third quarter when Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons re-injured Pickett’s ribs with a hard hit.
“I just wanted to come in and do my part,” Pickett said. “I told the quarterbacks in the tunnel before warm-ups, ‘Just win at all costs. That’s it. That’s all I care about.’ All I wanted to accomplish today was to get the win for the team and for the city. I also wanted to keep the momentum we’ve had going this season.”
Pickett, who wore extra padding in his flak jacket to protect his injured ribs, admitted the “Brotherly Shove” play and earlier hits during the game aggravated the injury. The Parsons hit ultimately forced him out of the game. Despite the discomfort, Pickett expressed optimism about his recovery.
“I’ll undergo more tests, but I don’t believe they’ll show anything significant,” he said. “Of course, you want to finish the game, but I left it all out there. I did everything I could to play today and stayed as long as I could. I have no regrets. We got the win, and that’s all that matters.”
Smith saw Pickett gut it out on the field after taking the shots he did with his banged-up ribs and said he and his teammates respected Pickett for the toughness that he showed.
“It did not go unnoticed,” Smith said. “To see him fight through the things he was fighting through, he’s a very tough guy.”
BUY EAGLES TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETMASTER
After serving as the emergency quarterback this season, McKee was elevated to the backup role and made the most of it replacing the injured Pickett, although he did not know how long he was going to play.
“They were saying to just stay ready,” McKee said. “They’re great. They’re very positive with things like that. During that moment, we didn’t really know if I was going to go in or if Kenny was going to come back. so Nuss (quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier) asked me if I was prepared and ready for this. He also told me to stay warm, so I was excited.”
In very limited work, McKee completed three of his four passes for 54 yards and two touchdown passes, becoming the first player to throw for multiple touchdowns with fewer than five attempts in their first career game.
“It was great. Before the game, I was thinking that this could be my shot. Then going out there and just being on the field, it’s great because you’re just playing football. You realize you’ve been here before and had reps multiple times in practice. I was running through it in my bedroom last night. Once you finally get in the field, all you’re doing is playing football.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni said he was happy that they both came in and played “clean” football and limited their mistakes, helping the Eagles come away with the win.
“They deserve all that credit. You can’t go out there and play that position without the greatness of other people, and they had some greatness from other guys out there. Starting with their coaches…who really did a good job of getting them ready. Then the plays that they got from Smitty (Smith), Saquon (Barkley), Grant Calcaterra, A.J. [Brown] and the offensive line. That’s what a team is. A team steps up in adversity and steps up and has each other’s backs.”
Having two quarterbacks who are capable of coming in and playing in a short-term capacity is important for a team with much higher aspirations than winning the division title. Either Pickett or McKee will likely play a lot in next week’s regular-season finale against Giants if the Eagles are eliminated from the race for the top seed if either the Minnesota Vikings or Detroit Lions win their games this weekend.
It could also help them this offseason if the team wanted to recoup a few draft picks from teams that is desperate to add a quarterback because of an injury. For now, the Eagles will make sure that they are prepared to step in if anything else were to happen to Hurts this season.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.
