When the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense was on the rocks at various points throughout this season, people (i.e., complete idiots) were calling for Jalen Hurts to be benched in favor of Tanner McKee.
“Well, I just want to see what McKee can do? It can’t be worse than this, right?”
Wrong.
So, incredibly wrong.
With the #2 seed on the line, McKee trotted out on the field at the Linc along with the rest of the Philly backups to face the Washington Commanders.
The Eagles lost 24-17.
McKee finished the game 21-for-40, 241 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Sometimes the stat line doesn’t tell the whole story, but in this case, it tells you all you need to know. McKee was inaccurate all afternoon. He had a few nice throws here and there, but for the most part, he was scattershot.
To be fair, the Commanders’ defensive line ran roughshod over the Eagles’ backup offensive line from the opening whistle. The skill gap between starters and backups was obvious, but damn. I found a picture in the Eagles’ discord that perfectly summed up how the o-line played.
It wasn’t pretty.
While that wasn’t entirely McKee’s fault, his inability to work through his reads or create with his legs continues to be his undoing. If his first read isn’t there, he’s dead in the water. I’ve seen Peyton Manning make more decisive moves with his legs than McKee did at various points in this game.
But that’s enough about Tanner McKee, because this game also put the Eagles’ biggest offensive issue into full view.
Kevin Patullo.
Yes, my delusional ass still thinks they’re hiding some shit for the playoffs. But that doesn’t mean we can excuse how ridiculous this playcalling has been.
Tank Bigsby was on fire today. He finished with 75 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, consistently picking up chunk gains and keeping the chains moving.
He didn’t touch the ball a single time in the 4th quarter.
Down the stretch, the Eagles faced multiple 3rd-and-3 and 4th-and-3 situations. Instead of leaning on the hot hand, Patullo put the game in McKee’s hands — twice — with predictably disastrous results.
Make no mistake: the Eagles win this game comfortably if the starters play. But regardless of who was on the field, the playcalling did them no favors.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Kelee Ringo, Jakorian Bennett, and Mac McWilliams doing their best Three Stooges impression with a trio of brutal penalties on Washington’s final touchdown drives. Josh Johnson essentially threw the ball into traffic and waited for one of them to bail him out with a flag.
And yet, we circle back to Kevin Patullo.
His playcalling was ass once again, and not even Tanner McKee could overcome it.
The McKee discourse can finally die — and with it, the idea that Jalen Hurts was ever the issue.
The Eagles are good enough to beat the 49ers. They’re talented enough to make another run.
Talent doesn’t matter if the people calling the plays refuse to help it.
January doesn’t reward hope. It rewards execution, and right now, that remains the Eagles’ biggest unanswered question.
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