Head coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t express any concern about the play of quarterback Kenny Pickett in Week 2 of the NFL preseason. In fact, Sirianni even praised Pickett for his performance.
But NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank didn’t share in that positivity. Frank ripped Pickett following the Eagles’ 14-13 victory against the New England Patriots on August 15.
“He was awful. Pickett really looked lost at times,” Frank wrote. “At one point, he took four sacks in the span of eight dropbacks, then had two pointless three-yard scrambles that could well have been sacks.
“Pickett struggled early in training camp with holding onto the ball too long, and that’s the Kenny Pickett we saw against the Patriots.”
Frank concluded that fellow Eagles backup quarterback Tanner McKee “is better” than Pickett.
“And it’s not even close,” added Frank.
Pickett, who started the game without Jalen Hurts playing, completed 11 of 13 passes for 67 yards. McKee went 15-for-19 with 140 passing yards.
QB Kenny Pickett Struggles With Sacks in Preseason Week 2
Frank’s biggest criticism of Pickett’s game concerned his negative plays. He was sacked four times, one of which came after he failed to unload the ball on fourth down.
“Sacks will happen, but on a 4th-and-8? A 3rd-year veteran who’s started 24 regular-season games has to know to get rid of the football on fourth down,” Frank wrote. “Even an interception is better than a sack. Throw the darn football, Kenny. Just throw the freaking ball.
Frank noted that with the sacks, Pickett netted only 43 yards and almost half of those came on yards after catch.
“19 of those yards came on a short pass that Will Shipley turned into a long gain with an outstanding individual effort that had nothing to do with Pickett,” wrote Frank. “Even in an ultra-vanilla offense, 3.3 yards per attempt is unacceptable.
“I hadn’t really entertained the notion that Tanner McKee could win the No. 2 quarterback spot. Until now.”
Pickett didn’t take a lot of sacks while starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he did struggle getting the ball down the field.
In 25 games with the Steelers, Pickett averaged 6.3 yards per pass.
Nick Sirianni Praises Pickett, Tanner McKee
The Eagles’ head coach didn’t call out the team’s offensive line during his postgame press conference. But he blamed the sacks Pickett took on the “pressure” he faced throughout the first half.
Sirianni praised both Pickett and McKee. Even after a follow-up question that asked whether McKee was challenging Pickett for the No. 2 job more because of his strong play than anything Pickett has done, Sirianni declined to waver in his confidence with both signal callers.
“I think they’re both doing a nice job. Tanner made some really nice throws down the field today with some good anticipation,” Sirianni told reporters in his postgame press conference. “I’ll have to look at the tape of what happened. But they both have had good practices to this date. I thought they both played solid today.”
Although Sirianni again said he had to study the film from the game, he suggested no changes were coming to the team’s quarterback depth chart.
“That’s a good room. They’re all helping Jalen [Hurts],” he said. “They’re all helping each other, and I love that. It really is a good room.”
“Kenny is our No. 2. Tanner is our No. 3. I’m really happy that both of those guys are on the roster.”
McKee, who the Eagles drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft, has never appeared in an NFL regular season game.
