Tanner McKee vs. Kenny Pickett: Young QB Lifts Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles traveled to New England to take on the Patriots as they continued their preseason schedule. A touchdown and successful 2-point conversion with under three minutes remaining in the game put the Eagles ahead 14-13.

There were plenty of ebbs and flows to this game, and plenty of errors and mistakes on both sides of the field, but the Eagles stepped up when they needed to.

Safety Avonte Maddox brought his stock way up with a big-time interception in the endzone that denied the Patriots points in the first quarter.

Side note: Does anyone else think that he could have scored on that return instead of going out of bounds?

If it weren’t for quarterback Tanner McKee’s commanding performance in the second half, the story of the night would be the offensive failures of Kenny Pickett.

Twice in the third quarter Pickett got the Eagles to the Patriots 30-yard line. On both occasions the drives would end up at 4th-1. The first time, Pickett fumbled the snap on the “tush push” and failed to pickup the first down. On the second occasion, a hand off to running back Will Shipley was stopped inches short.

The offense clicked under McKee as he completed 15-19 passes for 140 yards. His defining moment was the final drive.

With the Eagles trailing by a touchdown, McKee & Co. mounted a 70-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from Kendall Milton before McKee connected with rookie Ainias Smith for the 2-point conversion to go ahead 14-13.

McKee’s command of the offense cannot be overstated. He looked comfortable and in control. He read the field and made good decisions with the ball.

Related: Do Eagles Have An Offensive Depth Problem?

Pickett connected on 11-of-13 passes for just 67 yards. While he didn’t fumble or throw an interception, those two turnover-on-downs in the third quarter were looming large until McKee bailed him out.

McKee, a former sixth-round pick in his second year out of Stanford, has overshadowed former first-rounder Pickett all summer. A fourth-quarter comeback on the resume will certainly help his case to be the backup to Jalen Hurts.

The Eagles will host the Minnesota Vikings in their final preseason game next Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.