Eagles - Patriots Preseason Stock Market: QB Controversy, Ngata's Nice, and Booker's T-eeing OFF

The Eagles are making a habit of winning preseason games late.

Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Only in Philadelphia.

The Eagles stole another preseason game on Thursday night, outlasting the New England Patriots, 14-13, thanks to the heroics of Tanner McKee and Joseph Ngata.

Superstar Jalen Hurts isn't running scared of McKee just yet but the second-year Stanford product has chased down QB2 Kenny Pickett, at least according to the fan base in Philadelphia.

The coaching staff doesn't agree with that assessment and while Pickett was under siege playing with second-teamers against a heavy dose of the Pats' starters on defense, McKee kicked the passing game into gear against New England's deep reserves.

Pressed heavily on whether McKee should move past the embattled Pickett, head coach Nick Sirianni shut the narrative down.

"Kenny is No. 2 and Tanner is our No. 3, and I am really happy they’re both on the roster," the coach said. "... Like I said, the things that kind of stalled some of the drives in the first half today was some of the pressures we got. And we didn’t run it great in that area either for some different reasons that we’ll obviously look at and why. So no [McKee is not outplaying Pickett], I thought they both played a solid game tonight. Just some of the pressure that was on Kenny happened in that first half."

Even though he's not moving up the depth chart, McKee does lead out surging stocks for Preseason Week 2:

THE BULLS:

QB Tanner McKee - The second-year QB finished 15 of 19 for 140 yards with a 97.4 passer rating and led a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter that included a 28-yard strike to Joseph Ngata before Kendall Milton cashed in from a yard out. A nice rub route by Jacob Harris freed rookie receiver Ainias Smith for the two-point conversion to put Philadelphia over the top late in the game for the second time in six days.

McKee is showing arm talent with his playing time as well as poise, accuracy and confidence.

WR Joseph Ngata - Ngata took advantage of an expanded opportunity after rookie receiver Johnny Wilson was sidelined with a concussion suffered in practice on Tuesday. Veteran John Ross then joined Wilson on the sidelines in-game when he was ruled out after being evaluated for a concussion. The fourth quarter became the Ngata show as the second-year Clemon wideout made some big receptions, finishing with a team-high five catches for 88 yards.

A big-bodied WR at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds, Ngata usually struggles to gain separation. It seemed to click tonight for Ngata that he can use his frame to keep defenders at bay and it's nice to see the success for a hard worker. At your average Eagles' practice, it's either Ngata or running back Kenny Gainwell who is first on the field to get extra work on the JUGS machines.

EDGE PATRICK JOHNSON AND DT THOMAS BOOKER - A couple of bubble players on the defensive front Johnson and Booker are making life hard for GM Howie Roseman.

Johnson has re-made his body and taken a big step forward as a potential rotational edge rusher adding value to his already solid special teams work, and Booker was a monster on the interior in the fourth quarter wrecking the final stanza for the New England offense.

LB Nakobe Dean - Vic Fangio's pairing of Dean with Devin White at practice Tuesday was a mirage and it was back to White and Zack Baun in the preseason game before Dean arrived to prove he's the best linebacker in Philadelphia with an active performance that featured a team-high five tackles.

At some point, you have to wonder if Fangio has a blind spot regarding Dean and his impact on the game compared to the other options.

TE E.J. Jenkins - Jenkins matched Ngata with five catches for 47 yards, including a leaping, twisting grab of a Will Grier throw. Jenkins has flashed pretty consistently in camp but did not play well in the preseason opener at Baltimore so the bounce back was needed.

It's fair to wonder if offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who seems to prefer receiving TEs, would rather have Jenkins than veteran C.J. Uzomah, who has not done much this summer.

RG Mekhi Becton - Becton didn't even play but that was notable in itself because the big man joined the deference club and can now be officially called the starting right guard whether Sirianni admits it or not.

THE BEARS:

THE O-LINE STARTERS: After a solid performance against Baltimore in the preseason opener, the Eagles' second-team offensive line of Fred Johnson. Trevor Keegan, Brett Toth, Tyler Steen and Darian Kinnard had plenty of issues against several New England starters. When veteran Max Scharping arrived to play left tackle things got worse. Pickett was under siege during his run and McKee was also facing heavy pressure until things settled down against the deep reserves for the Pats.

QB Kenny Pickett - Pickett is not in danger of losing the QB2 job no matter what the fans want but that doesn't mean he played well even with all the context thrown in. Pickett finished 11 for 13 but peel back the onion and you'll see a dismal 0.7 air yards per completion and just 5.2 yards per attempt.

WR DEPTH: Losing Wilson and Ross further hampered a light unit that was also missing Parris Campbell, who is at least close to returning from a groin injury. With A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith sitting, that meant a heavy dose of Ngata and Harris with some Britain Covey thrown in. The Eagles might need to add someone to get through an upcoming cluster of practices.

THE TUSH PUSH - McKee and rookie sixth-round pick Dylan McMahon flubbed an opportunity at a tush push on a fourth-and-1 when McMahon's snap never got up to McKee.

It wasn't clear whether McMahon left it too low or McKee failed to secure the snap but the two were forced to work on the exchange on the sidelines after the turnover on downs. It turns out Jason Kelce and Hurts are a little more important than the teaching or execution of the play.

MORE NFL: Eagles Beat Patriots: A Dozen Overreactions Include Good And Bad in 14-13 Win