Did Tanner McKee get the backup QB job?

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles coach Nick Sirianni dodged a question as skillfully as Saquon Barkley dodges a defender when asked if Tanner McKee has a chance to beat out Kenny Pickett in the battle for the backup quarterback job.

Sirianni didn't really answer the question because he doesn't have to. And maybe he never will.

After McKee led the Eagles to a 14-13 win over the New Patriots on Thursday night, Sirianni simply said, “You saw what they did today. Kenny is our No. 2, Tanner is our No. 3 and I'm really happy to have both guys on the roster.”

Note that Sirianni did not say where they are after the game.

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PICKETT'S ACCUSATION?Is Tanner McKee pushing Kenny Pickett for the Eagles' backup QB job? Coach has a strange answer

It's pretty obvious.

McKee completed 15 of 19 passes for 140 yards on all but one play in the second half. He was composed and knew where to run the ball. Most importantly, he threw deep, hitting Joseph Ngata for 28 yards to the Patriots' 4-yard line for the game-winning touchdown with 4:23 left.

While Pickett completed a similar percentage of passes (11 of 13), he failed to complete a single pass of at least 10 yards, throwing for just 67 yards.

Sure, Pickett deserves some benefit of the doubt. He had to play against several Patriots starters on defense while playing backups, wide receiver, running back and tight end on the offensive line.

Pickett was under constant pressure and was sacked four times in ten plays in the second quarter.

On the other hand, Pickett was a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2022, and some of those sacks were the result of him holding the ball too long or misjudging it. For example, Pickett had John Ross free on the sideline, but Pickett threw to Ross' outside shoulder while Ross was looking inside.

Sure, that could have been Ross' fault. But plays like that have to be made.

We've seen signs that McKee is challenging Pickett, even beyond the two preseason games. McKee, for example, got some second-team action in practice last week. That certainly hasn't happened in the past, although the Eagles have explained it by saying that the quarterbacks just look different.

But we need to be clear about two things: First, if Hurts is injured for an extended period of time, the Eagles are lost, regardless of whether Pickett or McKee takes over. Second, Eagles practices will not be open to the media after the final preseason game on August 24, so we probably won't know who will get the majority of the second team's playing time.

It doesn't really matter because the Eagles are playing in the regular season, so Hurts will be doing almost all of the practice sessions while Pickett and McKee will serve as scout QBs to help the Eagles' defense.

Even in the actual games, we may not really know who number 2 and number 3 is.

Sure, the Eagles will most likely put Pickett on the game-day roster and use McKee as an emergency QB. That makes sense, because Pickett has started 24 games in his two seasons in Pittsburgh, while McKee has never played in the regular season.

So if Hurts has to leave a game due to injury, Pickett can finish that game.

However, if Hurts were to miss multiple games due to injury, the Eagles would have to play with their best quarterback, and that would be McKee.

Sirianni doesn't have to explain this until it happens. And maybe it never happens. It didn't happen last season, when Hurts played in all 17 games and veteran backup Marcus Mariota played just 44 snaps.

It's pretty clear who has played better this summer. Why else would McKee have been asked on Thursday night if he thinks he's in the running for the backup job?

“That's not my decision. I wish it were,” he told reporters. “I'm just ready to go out there and play whenever they call my name.”

It could be disallowed, and the Eagles would be OK with that because it would keep Hurts healthy, but the suspense is still there because McKee did it that way.

Here are four more overreactions:

Nakobe Dean will start as linebacker in front of Zack Baun

The Eagles have made sure Dean regains his starting spot this summer after a 2023 marred by injuries and inconsistency. Dean, to his credit, has stepped up a lot in the last two weeks of practice and in the two preseason games. Baun has been the starter alongside Devin White throughout training camp, with Dean and, more recently, Jeremiah Trotter contributing. That could soon change.

The offensive line must stay healthy

After seeing Pickett under pressure, it's not hard to imagine Hurts running for his life if Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson or Cam Jurgens were to miss significant playing time. That lack of depth on the offensive line was put on hold again Thursday when Tyler Steen, who clearly lost the battle at the right guard position to Mekhi Becton, was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Steen may have re-injured the ankle that kept him out of training camp 10 days earlier.

Avonte Maddox on, James Bradberry off

It wasn't a good game for Bradberry, who was out of position for the Patriots' touchdown while Maddox had an interception in the end zone. Still, there would be room on the 53-man roster for both veterans if not for Tristin McCollum, who continues to shine. As long as starters Reed Blankenship and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson stay healthy, the Eagles won't need Bradberry, especially once Sydney Brown is fit again from his ACL tear.

Did Tanner McKee get the backup QB job?

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