January 06, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Tanner McKee, with a 20-13 Eagles win over the Giants on Sunday in his first-ever NFL start, continued to impress.
Tanner McKee was in control, just like he was a week ago when he checked in against Dallas, and just like he was all the way back in the preseason in August.
In four plays on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, three of them completed passes, McKee had the Eagles downfield and in the end zone, with reserve receiver Ainias Smith breaking the plane on a cut across the middle and a direct feed taken in.
The Eagles, who were playing mostly their second- and third-stringers, never had to look back against a group of New York Giants starters who somehow couldn't answer.
They won 20-13, McKee led one more touchdown drive late in the second half, and while Week 18 was mostly meaningless for the Eagles since their playoff position as the No. 2 seed was already locked in, their QB3 still helped put together one more winning effort to tie a franchise-best record of 14-3.
He got his opportunity, this time in the form of his first-ever NFL start, and once again, he took over, with a building case that maybe this time next year, the Eagles' backup quarterback job should be his.
"I just felt like I showed I have confidence in myself to go out and operate, run the offense," McKee said at the press conference podium postgame, now sitting in the fan-favorite chair that names like Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley, Jeff Garcia, Michael Vick, and even Nick Foles helped to embed in Philadelphia Sports lore. "I feel like, for me, it just showed that my preparation has been working –like my preparation has helped me just get to how the offense was run today."
"I thought he was in complete control of the game today, and making good decisions," head coach Nick Sirianni said.
Tanner McKee to Ainias Smith for the @Eagles TD!
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
📺: #NYGvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/XVFWWbduKl
For the day, McKee went 27-for-41 passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns.
Through the first half, he went 17-for-26 on his pass attempts and kept the ball moving quickly and with purpose.
McKee took immediate advantage of depth receiver Jahan Dotson and leading tight end Dallas Goedert, for the couple of series that he played in his return from injury, as his top targets. Dotson made seven receptions for 94 yards and Goedert caught four for 55 yards before he was pulled.
McKee also kept a sharp awareness of where his checkdown was, which sent reserve running back Will Shipley off on a couple of notable chunk plays, including on a 2nd and 10 late in the first half, when McKee stepped up into a collapsing pocket and hit Shipley through a seam for a first down.
Nice rep by McKee staying calm in a collapsing pocket and getting the ball out to Shipley pic.twitter.com/sjmVYTX3c8
— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) January 5, 2025
The tempo that McKee was able to establish kept a Giants defense full of starters a step too slow to nearly everything. He was only sacked twice on Sunday, and neither came until way late into the third quarter. Moreover, aside from one scare toward halftime when New York was forced to start selling out on pass coverage overtop, McKee and the Eagles never turned the ball over.
It was a testament to the 24-year-old that he consistently got the ball out on time and to a safe spot, a testament to the Eagles' offensive line reserves for keeping him pretty well protected in the process, and for McKee, he wanted to be sure that credit went to offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, too.
“I thought Kellen called a great game," McKee said. "Moved in the pocket a few times, drop back, play-action, it just kinda felt like we were well-rounded.
"Hit a little bit of a speed bump right there just with timing and different things, and a lot of that's on me. Gonna to have to get better in that aspect, but just overall, I thought Kellen called a really good game, and I felt like we were well-rounded, which is great.”
But McKee had the ball in his hands. He was in the driver's seat. He was in control.
The Giants, offensively, could barely move, and late in the third quarter (and into the fourth) following a New York punt, McKee led the Eagles on a seven-play drive that ended with third-string tight end E.J. Jenkins' first NFL touchdown.
McKee hit a completion to Dotson for 12 yards, one to receiver Johnny Wilson for nine, and then another right back to Dotson for another 19. Shipley took a run for seven yards up to the New York 7, then on second down, Jenkins ran into motion, and on the snap, McKee got him the pass on the out that he hauled in and fell across the pylon with.
EJ Jenkins' first NFL TD puts the Eagles up, 17-3.
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
📺: #NYGvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
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The Eagles went up 17-3 after the extra point from Jake Elliott, and at that point, whatever remaining threat an outright miserable Giants team might have posed was just completely gone.
McKee, the third-string quarterback who seems rapidly on the rise now after two years of waiting in the wings, and the Eagles' reserves, they were in control – complete control.
"Man, did you see Tanner McKee just throwing dimes all over the field?" center Cam Jurgens, who was among the Eagles starters watching from the sideline on Sunday, quipped to the media in the locker room afterward.
"He's fun to watch. We get to see him dice up our scout team. It's just fun watching him go out there and make plays."
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