There was a lot of hope and expectations for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee as he made his second career start in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders, but it didn't go the way most people thought it would.
McKee finished the game, completing 21 of 40 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown to one interception, adding three rushing yards on two carries in the 24-17 loss to the Commanders. There were some nice moments from McKee, but for the most part, the story was marred by inaccuracies from the young quarterback, including the pick that was an apparent miscommunication between him and Jahan Dotson.
After the game, McKee was asked about the game and his performance. The third-year quarterback was honest about the mistakes he made in the game.
"Immediately, it stings for a little bit. Always," McKee said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "People always say, ‘Let it sting for 24 hours and then move on.’ So, it’s definitely hurting a little bit right now. Then, we’re just going to go watch some film and have a lot of really good things to learn from. Me specifically, just dumb mistakes or different things that we can learn from. The good thing is it’s never going to happen again. The bad thing is you got to learn from it by losing, unfortunately. So, if we can move on and not make those same mistakes again, then it’ll be worth it.”
Did McKee miss an opportunity to prove he's a starter in the NFL?
There are a few ways to look at McKee's performance in the game. Yes, the interception was bad, but for the most part, McKee did a good job of trying to keep the ball out of harm's way.
The Eagles' offensive line didn't exactly do much to help their quarterback out. McKee was under pressure multiple times throughout the game, some of it on him panicking too quickly, but seven pressures and three sacks were allowed by Philly's offensive line.
Even with the backups, Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo doesn't set his guys up with success. There will be questions about why they ran the ball just 19 times and threw it 40 times with McKee.
Read more: Tom Brady just said what only Eagles fans know about them going into playoffs
Did McKee ruin his chances of starting elsewhere? Not exactly, but he didn't do anything to increase his trade value either, so it's safe to say whatever the Eagles were offered for McKee in the offseason will probably be the same after the season.