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Kenny Pickett, Tanner McKee join forces to roll through Cowboys and clinch NFC East
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles have officially clinched the NFC East after beating the Dallas Cowboys, 41-7, in Week 17. 

This means that the Birds will enter the NFL playoffs nothing lower than a No. 2 seed. 

And they were able to pull that off without their starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. 

Instead, backup quarterback Kenny Pickett got the start but was unable to finish the game after leaving early due to a rib injury. 

Pickett completed 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards (9.5 avg) and one touchdown before heading to the locker room. 

He was recovered by third-string quarterback Tanner McKee, who sealed the Eagles' victory after going 3 of 4 for 54 yards and two touchdowns. 

"Those guys did a really go job. Coming in and playing really clean football," head coach Nick Sirianni said after the win. "I'm happy with the way they prepared themselves this week and went out and performed. They deserve all that credit but you know, you can't go out there and play that position without the greatness of other people and they had some greatness from other guys out there. Starting with their coaches -- Kellen [Moore] and Doug [Nussmeier] really did a good job of getting them ready. And then just the plays that they got from Smitty and Saquon, and Grant Clacaterra and A.J., and the offensive line.

"That's what a team does. A team steps up in adversity and has each other's backs."

Hurts is currently in concussion protocol and should be ready to go when the Eagles play their final regular season game next Sunday against the New York Giants. 

But if for some reason he isn't, then we know that the Eagles are in good hands. 

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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