Another Oddity In A Season Full Of Them Will Happen When Eagles Host Raiders

PHILADELPHIA – It’s been a weird season for the Eagles, with Saquon Barkley still under 1,000 yards rushing, this panicky three-game losing streak they are on that has turned an 8-2 start into a dicey 8-5, Jalen Hurts’ career-high four interception game, and Jordan Davis’ walk-off blocked field goal against the Rams, to name a few oddities.

Now, comes another one. Kenny Pickett will start against the Eagles on Sunday in South Philly, not far from where he grew up in South Jersey. Pickett becomes the second quarterback the Eagles will face this season who helped them win a Super Bowl.

The first one was Carson Wentz, now the Vikings QB who lost to the Eagles, 28-22, on Oct. 19. There’s no denying Wentz helped lead the Eagles to Super Bowl LII before yielding to backup Nick Foles after shredding ligaments in his knee. Fole finished the job, guiding the Eagles through the playoffs and outdueling the dynastic New England Patriots and Tom Brady to become the Super Bowl MVP.

Pickett’s assist in helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX last year over the Kansas City Chiefs wasn’t as pronounced as Wentz, but the Pitt graduate did win the game over the Dallas Cowboys in late December that clinched the NFC East.

Pickett played with broken ribs, suffered a week earlier, but toughed it out. He helped the Eagles build a big lead then took a seat on the bench and let Tanner McKee finish up Philly’s 41-7 rout of the Cowboys that day.

Respect For Kenny Pickett

“He was a great teammate,” said center Cam Jurgens. “I really enjoyed my time with him. Great dude. I still keep in contact with him. He’s had a rough NFL go so far. Got traded a lot, so it’s about time for him.”

Yeah, it is. The Raiders were doing terribly under Geno Smith, yet head coach Peter Carroll never saw fit to give Pickett a turn. Carroll fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, but that hasn’t worked, either. The Raiders are still terrible.

Now, Carroll has no other choice. Smith is injured, so he will have to turn to Pickett to make his first start of the year. Could Pickett’s knowledge of the Eagles’ personnel work to his advantage?

“He’s been very open and just playing there and talking to the other offensive players about what it will be like to play there, just the in terms of noise and crowd factor,’ said Las Vegas’ interim OC Greg Olson. “He’s very aware of their personnel and has given some good insight.”

Eagles OC Kevin Patullo said, “I don't know if it's an advantage per se. I don't know their game plan on offense and how they're going to use him. But I will say Kenny's a great guy. He worked extremely hard for us last year, was always ready and prepared, and did a nice job in the games he had to play in. He really did. I really like Kenny. …Obviously, he's a local guy, and he's going to want to do something. So, we'll see.”

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