Kenny Time

Jalen Hurts did not clear concussion protocol on Friday so Kenny Pickett will be the starting QB when Dallas comes to town on Sunday. Pickett against Cooper Rush isn’t exactly what FOX had in mind when they saw this game on the schedule back in May. That’s life in the NFL.

It sure feels like every team is banged up right now. The Eagles will be without Hurts and probably without Nakobe Dean. Dallas is missing CeeDee Lamb and a bunch of other guys. Every game preview at this time of the year focuses on who is available and who is hurt.

Pickett grew up an Eagles fan so this is a dream come true for him. He gets to start against the Dallas Cowboys with the NFC East title on the line. That is pretty cool. This is a great opportunity, but there is also a lot of pressure on him. Eagles fans aren’t particularly patient or forgiving. If he doesn’t play well, Pickett will hear about it. A lot.

Last week was a mixed performance for Pickett. A week of practice should make a difference and help him to play better. He knocked the rust off last week. His timing should be improved and the offense will be adjusted to fit his strengths. Pickett doesn’t need to turn into Joe Montana for the Eagles to win. He does need to play better than he did in Washington.

Pickett will have a healthy OL to protect him. He’ll have star WRs to throw the ball to in AJ and DeVonta. He’ll also have that Barkley guy to hand the ball to. It would be tough for a backup QB to ask for more than that. Pickett will have everything he needs to succeed. One X-factor is that it is supposed to rain. That can make things challenging for all QBs, let alone a backup who has small hands.

I’m curious to see how Pickett plays and what the coaches do schematically. He has 24 career starts. This isn’t a newbie with no idea what he’s doing. Kellen Moore has called plays for a variety of QBs. I think he’ll be able to figure out a good gameplan for Pickett. Then it will be up to the QB to go execute it.

The Eagles defense can help Pickett out in a big way if they limit the Dallas offense. The Cowboys won’t have CeeDee Lamb, far and away their best offensive weapon. The Eagles will likely be without Dean, who was listed as Questionable on Friday’s injury report due to an abdomen issue.

Oren Burks replaced Dean for a few plays last week so I’m guessing he’ll get the start. Jeremiah Trotter Jr just hasn’t played that much on defense this year. Burks has 15 career starts (including 5 last season) so it would make sense to have him on the field in a game where you’re trying to secure the division title. If the Eagles have nothing to play for in the finale, Trotter could get the nod.

Vic Fangio’s crew needs a bounce-back game. The Eagles played great defense for 10 straight weeks. Last week should be an anomaly, but they need to prove that with a good showing. Cooper Rush is playing well recently, but he isn’t an athletic scrambler so that will take a lot of pressure off the defense. They can focus on assignments and not having to deal with the unknown on every play.

I think Fangio will have his guys locked in.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson on preserving his swagger without getting penalized: “Listen to my coach and don’t say nothing. …In reality, it’s really just play football and don’t worry about the extracurriculars. …I got to understand, it’s not about me — which is very true — and I…

— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 27, 2024

Losing got everyone’s attention. They were way too sloppy last week. I think they will be focused against the Cowboys and ready to play. I sure hope so. I want to get back to enjoying the Eagles defense. That Washington game was painful.

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