Eagles - Pats On Second Thought: Pickett Protection And Fred Johnson Love

The Eagles did a better job of protecting Kenny Pickett after a 14-13 comeback win.

Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett (7) looks to pass against the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium. / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles’ second consecutive late-game preseason win, a 14-13 comeback over New England Thursday night, came at the cost of creating a backup quarterback controversy.

Outside Philadelphia, many may chuckle at that notion. Still, the Eagles’ organization assembled like The Avengers to snuff out any hint of competition between Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee.

The local television broadcast even trotted out Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com to cut off the building sentiment before head coach Nick Sirianni even took to the post-game podium.

Sirianni protected Pickett better than the second-team offensive line against a first-team Patriots defense.

All most Eagles fans saw, however, was one QB struggling to the tune of 0.7 air yards per completion and 5.2 yards per attempt vs. a third-stringer dominating.

The context is that Pickett and his backup buddies were competing against guys that will be playing on Sundays, and McKee was navigating against fellow third-teamers and camp bodies whose upside is the practice squad vs. delivering Amazon packages in about 10 days.

“The things that kind of stalled some of the drives in the first half today was some of the pressures we got,” Sirianni said when asked if McKee was outplaying Pickett. “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 isn’t 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.”

When pressed further Sirianni explained that Pickett, his first-round pedigree, and 24 NFL starts remain the Eagles’ No. 2 and McKee, a second-year player, will continue on the developmental trajectory.

“You saw where they went in today. Kenny is No. 2 and Tanner is our No. 3, and I am really happy they're both on the roster,” the coach said.

If only Fred Johnson, Trevor Keegan, Brett Toth, Tyler Steen, and Darian Kinnard protected Pickett like Sirianni, perhaps the siren’s song of fourth-quarter preseason football would have stayed in the background.

The good news is that the Eagles need neither Pickett or McKee to play with Jalen Hurts performing at such a high level.

If Hurts is forced to miss extended time, the bet here is that the competition talk will become more valid especially if Pickett struggles out of the gates.

SITTING STARTERS

Sirianni actually came up with a pretty good explanation for sitting his offensive starters, pointing out the number of reps the Eagles were able to get in during a joint practice on Tuesday.

“We had 89 plays against New England [in practice on Tuesday],” the coach noted. “It was a long, physical practice; good one-on-one reps also.”

Sirianni compared it to what is typically the heaviest day of the week during the regular season, Wednesday in front of a Sunday game.

“When you have that long of a practice, which is more like a Wednesday, even a longer Wednesday practice, and a really physical practice like it was … that's not enough rest in my opinion to put those guys back out there,” said Sirianni.”

The real reason of course is that the Eagles have a boatload of stars on offense and don’t want to risk losing them in August. Conversely, the defense is a work in progress so some projected or potential starters like Bryce Huff, Devin White, Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, Isaiah Rodgers, and rookie Quinyon Mitchell were suited up and played some. 

“As far as the defensive guys that played, Bryce, the linebackers, Devin and Zack and we just felt like they needed additional reps and we weren't planning on playing them long,” the coach said. “I think they were all around 10, 12, 14 plays somewhere in there. … That was our plan, to get them that amount of reps just because they're new to the team, new to the system. Zack Baun, new to that position a little bit as well. So we really wanted to get them reps and that's why those particular guys played.”

It was also showing a little bit of deference to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who is still trying to figure things out in the back seven.

GOOD SIGN FOR THE OTHER JOHNSON

It wasn't all bad for Fred Johnson despite Pickett's performance while under duress.

When given a chance to point to any player that has improved from last season, Sirianni did not go the recency bias route after watching McKee, receiver Joseph Ngata and defensive tackle Thomas Booker dominate in the fourth quarter.

Instead, he went to Johnson, who started at left tackle during the game and has gotten some first-team reps at RT when the Eagles put All-Pro Lane Johnson on a practice pitch count.

“I think Fred Johnson is continuing to develop as a really solid football player,” Sirianni said. “He's a big man, right? You see that, and it's hard to get around him. He just continues to put the work in that he needs to to put in to develop at his position. I'm really pleased with how Fred has worked and his toughness and just his ability to improve each day. 

“You can see that, so I'm happy. You asked me for a guy, that's the guy I'll single out right there. Proud of Fred for all the work he's put in to get himself to where he is right now."

Those projecting the initial 53-man roster may want to take note of that,

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