How Tanner McKee played better than his numbers look in preseason opener

The numbers? The numbers weren’t particularly impressive. The performance? It really wasn’t a bad night for Tanner McKee.

Playing with some deep backup receivers behind a bunch of offensive linemen you’ve never heard of in a painfully vanilla offense, McKee looked comfortable and in command in the Eagles’ preseason opener in Baltimore.

He played the Eagles’ last four offensive series – one went 17 plays for a touchdown, one was a disaster, one went 14 plays for a missed field goal and one went two plays for the game-winning field goal.

McKee completed only six passes for 39 yards, but he was victimized by at least two drops, and when he had to make plays, he made them. He was 3-for-5 with three conversions on third down.

“That was pretty fun,” McKee said. “It was just compete. Go out, play your best. I feel like when you’re out there, you’re not thinking this is a preseason game. You’re out there to win the game. That’s just who we are as competitors.

“Coach is huge on having the details of what situation we’re in. Are we in a two-minute? Four-minute? What yard-line do we have to get to, to have the kicker feel comfortable kicking the field goal? So, I’m just talking to the O-line with what’s going to come up. I’m telling the receivers to get a wide split or just little details like that. I thought we executed pretty well and, ultimately, just had our guys just go make some amazing plays.” 

McKee’s best moment was a seven-yard 1^st-down completion to rookie Ainias Smith on a 3^rd-and-6 with 4 ½ minutes left that helped the Eagles to run the clock down for a late field goal attempt (and then another one).

“I thought Tanner did a good job on getting some checks and really being in control of the operation,” Nick Sirianni said. “The one on third down that Tanner made to Ainias got the chains going and put them in a (difficult) position, and they only had 16 seconds left when they got the ball back. That was a huge play.”

Kenny Pickett seems locked into the No. 2 spot and he wasn’t awful Friday night considering the circumstances. Neither quarterback was asked to get the ball down the field or do much of anything we would see in the regular season.

But McKee is an impressive kid who’s having a very good summer, and for a young 6th-round pick entering Year 2 it’s hard to ask for more.

“I feel a lot more comfortable just with the offense,” McKee said. “I talk a lot about just being able to play without thinking. I feel like that’s when players play at their best. Last year, I was a little bit more methodical about learning what’s going on and trying to make sure I’m on the right checks. Now, I feel like I can go out there and things just happen, and checks are made. 

“There’s just different things like that that I feel more comfortable with. There’s tons of things that I can improve on. There were a few times this game that I missed the point or I thought the intent of the play was different, so I got the ball out of my hand and threw a pass that I probably should have just progressed on, but I just thought we were trying to get the ball snapped. 

“There’s definitely things I can improve on that way. I would say overall, I do feel more comfortable just being able to play without thinking so much.”

For the record, McKee was out there throwing to Joseph Ngata, Austin Watkins, Jacob Harris, Kevin Foelsch and E.J. Jenkins.

“I thought it was pretty smooth,” McKee said. “The new offense is awesome. I feel like our guys did a good job with the details inside and out, especially for our first preseason game.

“We knew they were going to bring a lot of pressure and specifically exotic pressures. … So I think part of our gameplan was you had to get the ball out of our hands and play hot that way.” 

As for Pickett, playing without DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley, he was OK. He’s still holding onto the ball too long sometimes but getting better with it.

His touchdown pass to rookie Will Shipley was a highlight, but with the Ravens bringing a lot of pressure and a vanilla game plan, neither quarterback completed a pass longer than 11 yards.

“I think it was a solid night,” the former Steelers 1^st-round pick said. “They do a lot of good stuff defensively that they showed early in this preseason (game), one that makes you try to prepare as much as you can with a day or two of prep. 

“We just kind of took what they were giving us. If it’s open, you just have to take it and keep methodically moving down the field, which I think we did. 

“It was great to get in the end zone and get ‘Ship’ in the end zone there on our longest drive. I thought it was a great drive. Obviously, we want explosive plays, but at the same time, you just want to take what’s there.”

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