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PHILADELPHIA — Kenny Pickett filled in admirably in his first start for the Philadelphia Eagles, completing 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards with a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown in a dominant 41-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Pickett left the game in the third quarter with a rib injury, not to return in a game that was well decided when he was diagnosed with the injury.
Turns out the rib injury was more than something that occurred during the game. Pickett practiced the entire week with broken ribs suffered in the Eagles’ loss last Sunday to the Washington Commanders in preparation for his first start. Starting quarterback Jalen Hurts was in concussion protocol, meaning Pickett was preparing for the start against Dallas.
Pickett wore a flak jacket throughout the week to protect his ribs, and continued to wear it on Sunday. This isn’t the first time Pickett played through broken ribs, as he started on three days’ rest during “Thursday Night Football” when he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.
“He bad broken ribs a little bit, so that makes it even better,” said Eagles cornerback Darius Slay after the game. “He was amazing. People always forget that Kenny was a starting quarterback in this league and won a lot of games over there in Pittsburgh. We expect him to do great things and he did that tonight. He let y’all know he’s still here.”
Slay complimented Pickett on his gutsy performance, one which saw Pickett complete 9 of 12 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown from the second quarter on (140.3 rating). Picket also converted two “tush pushes” in the game, one for a first down and one for a touchdown.
“The last person I’ve seen do stuff like that was (Matthew) Stafford,” Slay said. “He played through real bad injuries (in Detroit) and was still making plays. To see that dude come out here like that just shows how tough he is and how much he cares about this team. He put us in a great position to win and we appreciate that.”
Slay said Pickett told the team his ribs were broken earlier in the week.
“I don’t know how he doing it,” Slay said. “But if he doing it like that, kudos to him. That’s tough. To be getting hit and shit with broken ribs. It’s crazy.”
Pickett admitted he would be fine, as he spoke to the media after the win. He did play through the injury all week, and he was limited during Friday’s practice, but was a full participant Thursday. Third-string quarterback Tanner McKee took first-team reps on Friday.
“I’m good. I’m good. I’ll be alright,” Pickett said. “Came in with a little bit of an injury and we’ll do some more tests and everything, see how it looks. But I’ll be okay.”
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