Kenny Pickett says he will be fine after a rib injury kept him out of the Eagles’ dream start

PHILADELPHIA – Kenny Pickett had nothing but fond memories of going to Eagles games with his father and grandfather since the New Jersey native was 5 years old.

Pickett cheered on the likes of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook and couldn’t believe his luck this week knowing his childhood dream would come true as Jalen Hurts suffered a concussion.

The former Pitt star and first-round pick of the Steelers was the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles.

“It’s incredibly special. I had a lot of family here, especially my dad, who took me to all the games, and we have great memories together,” Pickett said.

Pickett gave his family – and 60,000 other Eagles fans at Linc – reason to cheer as he passed and ran for touchdowns to help the Eagles to a comfortable lead en route to a 41-7 victory over Dallas on Sunday.

The problem was the finish. Pickett left in the third quarter with rib injuries, raising doubts about his availability for next week’s finale against the New York Giants.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” Pickett said. “I came back with a minor injury and we’re going to do a few more tests and everything to see how it looks. But I’ll be fine. “

Hurts suffered a concussion last week in Washington, which opened the door for Pickett to make his first start of the season.

Pickett, acquired from the Steelers in the offseason, played with extra protection under his jersey after suffering a rib injury in action against the Commanders.

He finished 10 of 15 for 143 yards and hit two tough shots on the same drive in the third. Osa Odighizuwa was charged with roughhousing the passer on a late goal, and Pickett was then forced into the locker room on a hit from Micah Parsons.

“All the bodies laying on top of you and then the few hits after that, hard,” Pickett said. “But it’s part of the game. We love the game. Do whatever it takes to win.”

Third-stringer Tanner McKee threw two touchdown passes in relief of Pickett.

“You can’t go out and play that position without the greatness of other people, and the other guys out there showed some great things,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

Pickett returned to the field to celebrate with the Eagles after the win that gave them the NFC East title. He took a moment to look around, take in the scene and reflect on how far he’s come – from being a fan in the stands wearing team gear to wearing the real green Kelly uniform and winning a game.

“It’s special, man,” he said. “And sitting out there on the field, I’m sure there’s a kid that dreams of playing for the Eagles and doing things that we did out there today.”