On Second View: Why Tanner McKee May Not Have Locked Up Eagles' QB2 Job

If the preseason lies, the NFL's exhibition slate came up with a doozy during the Eagles' 24-21 setback to New England in Foxborough on Saturday night. With the door about to be slammed shut, struggling fourth-year quarterback Tanner McKee outplayed* veteran Andy Dalton.

The asterisk there is not a typo but more of a reminder to always remember all reps in the preseason are not created equal. In this case McKee played most of his lengthy stint (38 snaps, 60% of the offensive total) working alongside the Eagles’ third-team offensive players. Of course, that also meant McKee was working against the Pats' deep defensive reserves who will certainly be getting a talking to by Mike Vrabel for abandoning the flats for most of the night.

The stat sheet was a blowout for McKee. The Stanford product finished 16 of 22 for 173 yards with two touchdowns and a 125.8 passer rating. Dalton, who started for the second consecutive week, and was playing with the twos against New England's better reserves was an ugly 3 for 10 for 44 yards and a dismal 45.4 passer rating in 22 snaps (35% of the total).

“I know stat-wise [McKee] came out having a pretty good game, but obviously for all of us there will be corrections within it,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “But, yeah, thought he did some good things. Made some nice plays.

"Had a couple fourth downs that we would have liked to convert. Not saying those are his fault in that situation, but those fourth downs hurt us, not converting there.”

So what matters more here?

What Matters More?

Aug 22, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Andy Dalton (14) throws against the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The process over the spring and the totality of summer where the Eagles' actions indicated the belief was Dalton leading as the QB2 or the siren's song of playing dress-up where Carson Steele looked like a souped-up version of Christian McCaffrey in the passing game?

With Steele dominating in those flats and piling up yards after the catch with his hurdling ability, McKee did a nice job of getting the ball out of his hands to the outlet receivers offensive coordinator Sean Mannion provided him. So, perhaps Mannion was the real winner on Saturday.

“[McKee] found his shots on a couple when they brought one more than we could protect,” Sirianni said. “I thought Sean did a good job giving them answers there.”

Dalton's high point was a fourth-down conversion on a 13-yard hookup to wide receiver Darius Cooper late into the progression of the play.

“That was one where kind of get all the way back to No. 4 in the progression, and for me, felt like just the timing and rhythm of it was right there,” Dalton said. “Coop was in the right spot and just gave him a chance.”

If you're just evaluating QB play, that might have been the best play of the night for the Eagles' signal callers. Dalton, though, was inaccurate for the most part.

Sirianni has indicated the QB2 competition has been an even playing field since the spring. If you believe the words over the actions, Saturday night feels like a demarcation line vaulting McKee back into the QB2 role entering the final week of the preseason.

That would have McKee starting against Cincinnati on Aug. 28 with the inside track to nail down the job. However, there is a school of thought that Philadelphia would simply be more comfortable with Dalton's veteran presence if Jalen Hurts was forced to miss a game or two.

There's also the idea that Howie Roseman is showcasing both with the idea of spinning off one and handing the QB3 spot to developmental rookie Cole Payton, meaning the ultimate "winner" of the competition could be decided by the desires of outside forces. Presumably, at this late date, Dalton would have more value with the belief he could navigate a new system in a quicker fashion.

Then comes the reality that perhaps no one comes calling because neither has been all that impressive in the offseason, forcing Roseman to keep both and either carry four QBs with Payton (something the GM has said he could do), or hope the rookie clears waivers to start him on the practice squad.

The belief by many in New England is that the Pats need a better backup for Drake Maye than Tommy DeVito and the former Giants backup looked better than Dalton or McKee. Last week undrafted UConn rookie Joe Fagnano was far sharper than both.

To no surprise, Sirianni claims he's still not ready to name Hurts' backup for Sept. 13 against Washington.

“We got to continue to give both of them opportunities within practice and potentially games,” Sirianni said. “See how next week goes. Obviously, I’m not there yet.”

McKee has adopted the control-what-you-can-control narrative.

“I play when the coaches put me in,” McKee said. “Obviously, put my best foot forward, try to do all the extra things, whether that’s in the film room or on the practice field, staying late, talking with the guys, bonding, whatever that is. I let them decide all that.”

Dalton, who has seen it all during his 15 seasons, went pragmatic: “Every day is a new day, and so we’ll see how it all ends up."

In the end, McKee’s flashy numbers against the Pats is offering a compelling case to move the needle, Dalton’s experience provides a safety net to keep in status quo, and Sirianni’s deliberate ambiguity is keeping both options alive.

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