Tanner McKee’s first career NFL touchdown pass was thrown to a Philadelphia Eagles fan named Patrick.
Well, McKee actually threw a 20-yard touchdown to Pro Bowl wide receiver AJ Brown, who — in a moment of reason — chucked the souvenir football into the Lincoln Financial Field stands.
uh-oh
“I felt bad,” Brown said, “because I threw it away.”
McKee, a sixth-round pick out of Stanford in 2023, is the third-string career QB who had never played a regular-season snap until he was pressed into emergency duty Sunday against Dallas.
Jalen Hurts didn’t start because of an injury and Kenny Pickett — who ran and threw for a touchdown in the Eagles’ 41-7 win — left the game with injured ribs.
(read more: 2024 NFL playoff picture: Four more postseason spots still up for grabs in Week 17)
That opened the door for the 24-year-old McKee to play in a game in which the Eagles clinched the NFC East.
He did his part — including a 20-yard strike in the third that made it 34-7. The celebration was temporarily silenced when he realized his ball – a milestone memory for any player – was somewhere in the stands.
Little did McKee know the ball was coming back to him.
Eagles fans started a little relay with the ball when they realized its importance to McKee. The fan who caught the ball was promised a Browns jersey. He passed the ball to a fan, who passed it to Eagles safety chief “Big” Dom DeSandro to another Eagles employee to Brown and finally to McKee.
The souvenir is safe.
(read more: Saquon Barkley tops 2,000 rushing yards as Eagles win NFC East title)
“I appreciate whoever gave the ball back,” McKee said. “(Brown) was like, ‘I’m sorry, bro. I got the ball back.’ So, yeah, it was good, he made a great play, and obviously a great catch.
It was Brown’s throw that needed work.
Brown took off his game jersey and signed it and handed it to a fan named Patrick as thanks for returning the football — all the while the fans chanted “Eagles!” around him.
“We have great fans here,” Brown said.
McKee needed more room on the trophy shelf — he threw a second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
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