Roob's Instant Observations: McKee outplays Dalton in Eagles' preseason loss

Despite a 24-21 loss to the Patriots, several Eagles made their mark at Gillette Stadium Saturday night.

By Reuben Frank • Published August 22, 2026

Only one more of these and we can all get on with our lives.

The Eagles lost to the Patriots 24-21 Saturday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in their second of three preseason games. They finish the preseason Friday night at the Linc against the Bengals.

No starters got on the field, and they won’t play Friday either. That’s just the way it’s always going to be under Nick Sirianni. And it works.

The Patriots won the game with 57 seconds left on a 37-yard touchdown pass from rookie Behren Morton to Nick DeGennaro, who beat corner Isaiah Bolden, who has been an Eagle for five days.

Unlike the opener in Baltimore last weekend, there were plenty of positives. Here’s our 10 Instant Observations as we slog through the preseason with opening day three weeks away.

1. So much for that quarterback competition. If this game was any indication, Tanner McKee has to be the Eagles’ backup quarterback. Andy Dalton just isn’t very good. He had a couple nice completions to Darius Cooper Saturday night – 25 yards out to midfield on a 2nd-and-7 and 13 yards to Cooper on a 4th-and-1 on the Eagles’ first touchdown drive. But after an ineffective 3-for-6 for 20 yards against the Ravens last week, he finished 3-for-10 for 44 yards in New England, with all his completions going to Cooper. That leaves him 6-for-16 for 64 yards on nine drives this preseason with a miserable passer rating of 50.0. Dalton hasn’t been terrible in practice, but in the two games he just hasn’t brought any juice to the offense and has looked all of his 38 years. Tanner McKee needs to be the Eagles’ No. 2 QB, and he was sharp and decisive Saturday, going 16-for-22 for 173 yards with two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 125.8 passer rating before giving way to rookie Cole Payton with 57 seconds left. And remember, Dalton was out there with the 2’s and McKee mainly with the 3’s. Maybe Howie can find a taker for Dalton for a bottom of the draft pick, but McKee needs to be Jalen Hurts’ backup.

2. As miserable as the offense looked last week in Baltimore in Sean Mannion’s debut as a play caller, they looked sharp and crisp for the most part Saturday night in Foxborough, and I thought Mannion really did a nice job calling plays, keeping the Patriots off-balance, mixing things up and getting the offense into a rhythm on drives of 77, 62, 56 and 52 yards, the third of which stalled at the Patriots’ 9-yard-line. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was a significant upgrade over what we saw last weekend in Baltimore. And Mannion was doing it with backup quarterbacks throwing to Carson Steele, Cam Latu, Britain Covey and Stone Smartt. Get Mannion calling plays for DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley and I think the Eagles may be onto something. Now, keep in mind the Eagles aren’t game planning for preseason games and they’re not dipping into the playbook that they’ll use once the games count. Now, this offense is still a work in progress. Joint practices were evidence of that. It wouldn’t be surprising if it takes the offense a few weeks to really get going this fall, but with the skill guys they have, the o-line they have and the quarterback they have – as well as the play caller they have – they’re ultimately going to be very good.

3. Let’s talk about Ty Robinson. Two weeks ago, he wouldn’t have been on anybody’s projected 53-man roster, but something just clicked with him and after a monster performance against the Ravens and two really good days of joint practices, he showed up again Saturday night, beating a double team to sack Tommy DeVito for a nine-yard loss on a 3rd-and-7 in the first quarter and then adding a second sack of DeVito for 12 yards in the second quarter. He also had three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and three tackles. If there were an NFC Defensive Player of the Week in the preseason, Robinson would have it locked up. Vic Fangio was hilarious during the week when asked about Robinson: "Yeah, he came to life. He's been on life support since he's been here, but he came to life and hopefully that will continue.” It continued Saturday night, and now Howie Roseman will have some interesting decisions to make at defensive tackle. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo are the locks, Gabe Hall, Byron Young and Robinson are the next group and there’s Uar Bernard to probably protect from the waiver wire. Hall made some plays Saturday night, but right now he’s the odd man out thanks to the way Robinson has performed. He’s been fantastic.

4. Ya know, I really like that Will Shipley. I’m not sure what sort of role he’ll have during the regular season behind Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby, but the kid runs hard and the first defender never tackles him. Shipley keeps his legs moving, moves the pile and really understands how to hit the hole decisively. Shipley ran 11 times for 56 yards with a five-yard touchdown run and four first downs playing only two drives. When the Eagles brought in a couple veteran running backs with decent resumes – former 49er Elijah Mitchell, who ran for 963 yards as a rookie, and former Texan Dameon Pierce, who ran for 939 yards as a rookie – I wondered if the Eagles were trying to upgrade their running back depth behind Barkley and Bigsby. But they both got hurt, Shipley continued to impress in camp and both preseason games so far and there may have been some question about his spot on the 53 a few weeks ago but certainly not any more. Solid special teamer, good kick returner and has a flair for making plays at running back. No way he’s not making the 53.

5. What was a huge concern at the start of training camp – offensive line depth – is now starting to look awfully promising. Markel Bell continues to impress as a backup swing tackle and Lane Johnson’s hand-picked successor at right tackle, Willie Lampkin has been a beast at guard and center, Drew Kendall is much improved over his rookie year and Jake Majors has come out of nowhere to put together an impressive camp. Those guys battered the Patriots’ defensive front on the Will Shipley touchdown drive, and it’s encouraging that all the Eagles’ starting offensive linemen are healthy three weeks before opening day, but after watching these guys practice all summer and especially against the Patriots Saturday night you have to feel a lot more comfortable with the backups than a few weeks ago.

6. How about that Joshua Weru? Are you kidding me? This is a rugby player from Kenya who never put on shoulder pads until three weeks ago and never played in a football game on any level until last weekend, And all he did Saturday night was pick up a sack on Patriots QB Behren Morton in the third quarter to go with a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. Weru is fast and strong and he’s clearly still a long-term project, but he’s a long-term project who already looks like a legit prospect. Which is insane considering his background. Uar Bernard has gotten more attention and picked up the first two tackles of his life Saturday night in the fourth quarter, and he’s sure fun to watch too, but out of the Eagles’ two International Pathway Program rookies, Weru looks closer to being a functional NFL player at this point. Howie Roseman deserves so much credit for finding players in places where most GMs don’t even look for them.

7. Deontae Lawson – that’s No. 47 on defense – has put together a couple impressive games and I don’t think we’ve ever talked about the Eagles having too many decent linebackers, but I think Lawson can play. He’s a 6-foot-3, 225-pound backer from Alabama, a 2nd-team all-SEC player and an undrafted rookie, but he’s had a nice summer and shown up in both preseason games. He had five tackles in Baltimore and three in New England and just plays fast and physical. The Eagles’ linebacker depth is impressive, led by Jeremiah Trotter and Smael Mondon supported by Chance Campbell and Lawson. Campbell can play as well and has also had a good summer. Howie will probably keep five backers, and behind Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell, Trotter is No. 3 and Mondon will probably be No. 4. Campbell and Lawson will both be on the practice squad, assuming they get through waivers.

8. Steele, who rushed for over 1,500 yards at Ball State as a sophomore, isn’t going to make the 53, but, wow, he looked terrific Saturday night, with six catches for 84 yards, including a 14-yarder where he hurdled Patriots corner Brandon Crossley and a 28-yard touchdown where he hurdled Patriots safety Eric Butler. Was that Carson Steele or Devon Allen? Steele is another promising young undrafted kid who keeps making plays, and he finished Saturday night with 117 scrimmage yards. Best-case scenario is a practice squad spot. I don’t know if Steele will ever play an NFL snap, but he’s got a real flair in the receiving game and has earned a spot on the practice squad with a nice summer.

9. Shaun Wade isn’t a kid. He’s a 28-year-old corner from Ohio State who’s bounced around from the Ravens to the Patriots to the Chargers to the Bears to the Dallas Renegades of the UFL to the Eagles and hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2023. But Wade has shown up in both preseason games, forcing a fumble in each one and also recording a nice pass breakup in Baltimore. There isn’t a roster spot for him and honestly he hasn’t played great other than those handful of big plays. But when a guy who hasn’t played a regular-season snap in three years forces fumbles in back-to-back games, that gets you noticed.

10. If you don’t like the fact that Nick Sirianni never plays starters in the preseason, you have to consider that no NFL team since 2021 has started out seasons better than the Eagles. They are always ready, and you can’t ask for better evidence that resting the starters makes sense than their record early in seasons under Sirianni. This team is always prepared when the games matter. The Eagles are 5-0 on opening day under Sirianni, winning by an average of nine points, and they have the best September record in the NFL since 2021 at 13-4. It’s easy to just assume that the starters are going to be rusty if they don’t play in the preseason games, but that just hasn’t been the case. This system works.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/roobs-instant-observations-tanner-mckee-andy-dalton-carson-steele-sean-mannion/747813/

I’ll be honest… Howie makes a lot of really good moves. He’s always several steps ahead of things and really sees value and assets. He might bring players in who he thinks could add value in a trade piece. He may keep players on the roster that he has no intention of keeping but rather uses them in a trade that has upside with little risk.

But I don’t get the Dalton plan? I’ve never been a fan of his even when he was a starter. He’s always been below average. And he’s only gotten worse as he’s gotten older. So what was the plan there? Because McKee as a back up was fine, in fact a year ago we felt great about him. Dalton was never an improvement at back up QB. And until this weekend all the move did was devalue McKee who was struggling and not getting as many valuable snaps in camp.

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I’ll be honest… Howie makes a lot of really good moves. He’s always several steps ahead of things and really sees value and assets. He might bring players in who he thinks could add value in a trade piece. He may keep players on the roster that he has no intention of keeping but rather uses them in a trade that has upside with little risk.

But I don’t get the Dalton plan? I’ve never been a fan of his even when he was a starter. He’s always been below average. And he’s only gotten worse as he’s gotten older. So what was the plan there? Because McKee as a back up was fine, in fact a year ago we felt great about him. Dalton was never an improvement at back up QB. And until this weekend all the move did was devalue McKee who was struggling and not getting as many valuable snaps in camp.

He was likely brought in as a backup plan thinking there was a decent chance they could swing a deal to move McKee (Howie has always liked an experienced veteran at backup QB).

1 hour ago, time2rock said:

He was likely brought in as a backup plan thinking there was a decent chance they could swing a deal to move McKee (Howie has always liked an experienced veteran at backup QB).

And if that’s the case okay that’s a plan… But I mean Dalton stinks there’s no way he should be a back up on a team who wants to be a contender.

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

And if that’s the case okay that’s a plan… But I mean Dalton stinks there’s no way he should be a back up on a team who wants to be a contender.

I hear ya. I get the gist of the plan but there were likely better options.

I don’t really think it matters who the backup is for this team. If Hurts goes down, season is over. McKee may be ok, but there is no playoff run if he’s the full time starter.

I’m always amazed how Roob can find so much to write about off of a pre-season game. 🤔😊

On 8/25/2026 at 1:13 AM, LacesOut said:

I don’t really think it matters who the backup is for this team. If Hurts goes down, season is over. McKee may be ok, but there no playoff run if he’s the full time starter.

The way he’s going with these INTs the season may be over with Hurts starting… I kid I kid.