PHILADELPHIA — If Kenny Pickett proved anything Sunday, it’s that the previously seldom seen Eagles backup quarterback is gifted enough to take on the challenging task of being Jalen Hurts’ understudy in times of pressure.
What may have surprised some people is how committed he’d be in proving his case.
Pickett, the former Steelers starter, had a few passes go badly astray Sunday in his first starting assignment of the season, especially early on in the game. But he came back to hit on 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards, including a beaut of a 22-yard touchdown throw to DeVonta Smith. He also took a page from Hurts’ tush-push book, pushing ahead for a touchdown on the last play of the first half that paved the way to a 41-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
What wasn’t so obvious was that Pickett was doing so with a rib injury he suffered late last week in a loss to the Washington Commanders, after he’d taken over for Hurts when the Eagles’ starting QB went down with a concussion.
To Smith (six catches for 120 yards, two touchdowns), the way Pickett responded to that physical challenge wasn’t surprising at all.
“It don’t go unnoticed, man,” Smith said. “To fight through the things he had to fight through, he’s a very tough guy.”
With the Eagles wrapping up an NFC East title with the win, and at the very least capturing the conference’s second seed in the playoffs, Pickett may or may not have the chance to prove his toughness again Sunday against the New York Giants in the regular season finale.
That’s not only because Hurts’ status is unclear – it’s probably not the best idea to start him unless there’s still a chance for the Birds to steal the No. 1 NFC seed from the Detroit Lions – but it’s now not clear whether Pickett could tough it out. Because for the second straight game, he wasn’t able to finish it.
That was due to a VERY late hit put on him in the third quarter by Dallas defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who essentially took a few steps after Pickett released a pass and planted a helmet into Pickett’s ribs.
An unfortunate coincidence, no doubt.
“Of course you want to finish it out, but I left it all out there,” Pickett said after the game. “I did everything I could to play today, stay in there as long as I could. I have no regrets or anything. Leaving the stadium, we got the win. That’s all that matters.”
To that end, Pickett isn’t going to use his banged-up rib cage as an excuse to miss a possible shot at a second start next weekend.
“I’m good, I’m good,” Pickett said. “I’ll be alright. (I) came in with a little bit of an injury and we’ll do some more tests and everything, then see how it looks. But I’ll be OK.”
Even so, it appears it’ll be another Eagles week with at least some speculation on the status of the quarterback position. For his part, Hurts kept as low a profile as possible all last week and during Sunday’s game.
Asked for early odds on who might get the starting nod against the Giants, along with any lingering doubts about whether to give Saquon Barkley a chance to break Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record (he needs 100 yards to tie it) in a game that might be meaningless after the Lions play Monday night, head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t offer up many clues.
“There’s a lot that goes into it,” he said. “We’ll watch some games tonight, see how things are going. We’ll do what we need to do, what’s right for the football team. (We’ve) always got to do what’s right for the football team to reach our goals of what we need to do. Like I said, I’ve got a lot to think about. I’m going to enjoy this, and I’ll think about it tonight at some point.”
Of course, if Pickett’s ribs send enough sustained charges of pain to limit his availability, and if the Eagles’ medical crew thinks Hurts could use at least another week of downtime, there is a third option that was on display Sunday.
While Pickett stayed in the game and finished that series in the third quarter (with five straight handoffs to Barkley and a couple more to Kenneth Gainwell), he did try a couple of passes that apparently were painful enough for him to move to the sideline for the remainder of the game.
Tanner McKee promptly came in with 8:47 left in the third and didn’t waste much time reminding Eagles fans how good he had looked in training camp. The No. 3 QB hit on 3 of 4 passing attempts, good for 54 yards and touchdowns to each of A.J. Brown and Smith as the Eagles never seem to mind running up a score against the Cowboys.
“It’s surreal. You grow up dreaming of playing college football and then someday in the NFL,” McKee said. “So to actually play in the NFL, play with these guys, throw a touchdown pass, win a game, it is surreal and it’s really awesome.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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