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The Mayor of Philadelphia knows his football -- and tells TMZ Sports when the Eagles kick off the regular season, he wants to see Nick Foles under center ... not Carson Wentz.

Of course, there's a bit of a QB controversy in Philly -- Wentz is an absolute stud but Foles got the job done in the playoffs and was named MVP of the Super Bowl.

But, Mayor Jim Kenney says it's not a debate in his mind -- he wants to see Foles as the starter ... no disrespect to Wentz.

In fact, Kenney says he knows Wentz is still nursing that knee injury -- and he doesn't want to see Carson rush back before he's absolutely 100% healthy.

In a way, it's actually a compliment to Carson.