Nick Sirianni talks Eagles backup QB battle, Makai Lemon’s progress
Sirianni addressed the media Wednesday to discuss issues from Monday's ugly loss in Chicago.
Four plays. That’s how long it took Eagles backup quarterback Andy Dalton to throw an interception after he briefly replaced Jalen Hurts on Monday.
This turnover, a major turning point in the Eagles’ 27-7 loss to the Bears, shined a national spotlight on the team’s messy backup quarterback situation.
Naturally, Nick Sirianni was asked a direct question about it in his press conference on Wednesday: “Do you feel like Andy Dalton is your backup quarterback?”
Sirianni gave a minute-long response — though he didn’t exactly answer the question.
» READ MORE: What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 4 vs. the Rams
“You know, I have a lot of faith in both of those guys,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, you know what happened in the game. We don’t want turnovers by anybody. Whether it was that [play], whether it was Jalen’s interception, whether it was Tank [Bigsby’s] fumble, that has not been our winning formula. We can’t turn the ball over. And we did in a situation and lost points from it.
“I still have faith in that entire [quarterback room]. With Tanner [McKee], I still have faith in Andy, I still like the way that Cole [Payton] is developing. And so, yeah, I still love that room.”
Minutes later, another reporter followed up: “You didn’t really answer [The Inquirer’s] question. Is there a chance Tanner might be No. 2?”
Sirianni responded, “Like I said, I answered how I wanted to… I’ve got a lot of faith in that everybody in that room.”
Sirianni is likely deflecting to keep confidence high in the quarterback room, but he didn’t exactly give Dalton a ringing endorsement.
This comes weeks after the Eagles decided to keep four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster. Dalton and McKee alternately struggled at times during their preseason quarterback competition, which left the Eagles in a tough spot — they didn’t have a great backup or an attractive enough trade target.
After a bad preseason showing and even worse debut, Sirianni might have no choice but to shake up the depth chart and put McKee ahead of Dalton. The 26-year-old McKee — who was once viewed as a promising prospect — threw for 263 yards, one touchdown and one interception in three preseason games.
Is Makai Lemon improving?
Rookie first-round pick Makai Lemon has not had the best start to his NFL career. He has 38 yards on seven receptions and he’s been targeted nine times.
He’s shown glimpses — like when he snagged a career-best 19-yard catch on the Eagles’ opening drive on Monday — but he hasn’t lit up the stat sheet the way he’d like to.
» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni has a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it, after Eagles’ weaknesses are exposed in Chicago
Sirianni still isn’t panicking. In fact, the Eagles head coach said the 22-year-old has given him an increased comfort level.
“Makai gives you confidence as he’s getting more and more touches,” Sirianni said. “The trust has to build, obviously, in a different way. It’s got to build through practice, but it’s got to build also through the things that he consistently does on the field without the ball in his hands.
“And I think that’s what’s been good with Makai. He gives you a lot of faith that he knows what he’s doing in all situations. And when the ball starts to come to him, more chances will come to him because he consistently does his job with other factors, without the ball on his hands. And I think he’s scrappy. He is consistently on the same page and, he blocked his butt off the other day in that game and played a solid game.”
Lemon was one of college football’s top receivers in 2025, becoming the second Southern Cal player ever to win the Biletnikoff Award for most outstanding receiver in college football. He caught 79 passes for 1,156 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his final collegiate season.
The Eagles took him the 20th pick of the NFL draft in April, dealing with the rival Cowboys in order to move up and do so.
It was a blowout, and it left a lot of questions. The Eagles’ 27-7 loss to the Bears Monday night at Soldier Field featured an offense that fizzled, a defense that folded, and a coaching staff that looked outmatched. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Jeff Neiburg provide a postmortem of the defense’s disappointing start to the season, critique of offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s approach, and assessment of how some of general manager Howie Roseman’s moves have panned out so far. Listen here.
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