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Nick Sirianni: "It's still a competition" between Andy Dalton, Tanner McKee for QB2

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said the backup quarterback competition between Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee remains undecided after a preseason loss to the New England Patriots. Dalton started but struggled, while McKee impressed with two touchdown passes, leaving the coach confident in both players.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 23, 2026 Published 1d ago

Sirianni: QB2 competition remains undecided

Following the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 2 preseason loss to the New England Patriots, head coach Nick Sirianni said the battle for the backup quarterback job between Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee is still ongoing.

"It's still a competition," Sirianni told reporters, according to both Heavy and NBC Sports. He added, "I think both the guys are battling, and I'm really confident in both of the guys."

Dalton has been taking the field first in preseason games, but Sirianni explained that the order is not indicative of a final decision.

"The reason Andy is going in first is because he's not going to play as much as Tanner because he has more experience and he has more experience within this type of system, and Tanner needs to continue to play there," Sirianni said.

He also noted that Dalton has had back-to-back starts and plenty of reps with the second-team offense in practice behind starter Jalen Hurts.

Contrasting performances in the loss

In Saturday's game against the Patriots, Dalton started and played 22 snaps, while McKee saw 38 snaps. Dalton completed three of ten passes for 44 yards and no touchdowns. McKee, meanwhile, completed 16 of 22 passes for 173 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Sirianni praised McKee's showing but indicated there were areas to clean up.

"Thought today he did some good things," Sirianni said. "There will be plays that we're going to have to correct and there was a lot of positives. I know stat-wise he came out having a pretty good game, and so, but obviously for all of us there will be corrections within it."

Experience vs. potential

Dalton, 38, has 169 career regular-season starts, giving him a significant edge in experience. McKee, in contrast, has two starts in three seasons with the Eagles.

Sirianni indicated that the team will continue to evaluate both players in practice and in upcoming preseason games, saying he is not yet ready to name a winner.

"Obviously, I'm not there yet for next week's game," he said, "but that was the plan today."

How each outlet told it

Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC

Framing: Headline emphasizes a 'Key 4-Word Quote' from Sirianni, framing the quote as a revelation answering the ongoing question, with the loss to the Patriots mentioned as context. — Slightly dramatic or anticipatory. Uses phrases like 'lopsided battle' and 'what everybody was wondering' to create a sense of suspense. Tone is 'anticipatory'.

Facts Included:

Eagles lost Week 2 preseason game against New England Patriots
Sirianni said 'It’s still a competition' regarding QB2 battle
Sirianni credited Dalton and McKee for battling and said he was 'really confident' in both
Dalton had back-to-back starts and plenty of QB2 reps in practice
Sirianni explained order: 'The reason Andy is going in first is because he’s not going to play as much as Tanner because he has more experience...'
McKee completed 16 of 22 for 173 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions
Dalton went 3-for-10 for 44 yards, no touchdowns
Sirianni mentioned not being there yet for next week's game

Read the source article →

Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC

Framing: Headline emphasizes Sirianni's quote 'It's still a competition' directly, framing the QB2 battle as ongoing and open, without reference to the game outcome. — Neutral and informational. Descriptive tone: 'After Saturday’s preseason game... Sirianni said...' and 'Dalton definitely has the experience.'

Facts Included:

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said 'it's still a competition' between Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee for QB2
Sirianni: 'I think both the guys are battling, and I’m really confident in both of the guys'
Dalton started and played 22 snaps; McKee had 38 snaps
Dalton completed three of 10 passes for 44 yards; McKee completed 16 of 22 for 173 yards and two touchdowns
Sirianni praised McKee's performance but noted corrections needed
Dalton is 38 and has 169 career regular-season starts
McKee has two starts in three seasons with the Eagles

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimEagles coach Nick Sirianni said it's still a competition between Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee for the backup quarterback job.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC, Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimNick Sirianni said 'I think both the guys are battling, and I’m really confident in both of the guys' when discussing Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC, Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimAndy Dalton started the Eagles' Week 2 preseason game and played 22 snaps, while Tanner McKee played 38 snaps.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC
ClaimAndy Dalton completed three of ten passes for 44 yards in the Week 2 preseason game.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC, Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimTanner McKee completed 16 of 22 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 2 preseason game.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC, Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimNick Sirianni praised Tanner McKee's performance in the Week 2 preseason game but noted that there would be corrections needed.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC
ClaimAndy Dalton is 38 years old and has 169 career regular-season starts.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC
ClaimTanner McKee has two starts in three seasons with the Eagles.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC
ClaimThe Philadelphia Eagles lost their Week 2 preseason game against the New England Patriots.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimNick Sirianni said that Andy Dalton is going in first because he won't play as much as Tanner because he has more experience.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Nbc Sports as of Aug 23, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC, Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimAndy Dalton had back-to-back starts and plenty of QB2 reps in practice.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimNick Sirianni said he is not ready for next week's game.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC
ClaimTanner McKee threw no interceptions in the Week 2 preseason game.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 23, 2026, 10:16 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Heavy., Nbc Sports 13 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-23