What has happened to Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott? On Sunday, in the team’s win over the Carolina Panthers, Elliott missed a 52-yard field goal. In addition, he missed an extra point, but fortunately for the Eagles, the Panthers were called for a penalty.
Elliott, 29, has converted only 18/24 field goals this season, including 0/5 from 50-plus yards. Philadelphia is the only team in the league without a 50-yard field goal.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Eagles leading 22-16, they had an opportunity to put the game away if Elliott could make a 55-yard field goal, but they decided to take a delay of game penalty and punt the ball.
Despite not taking the field goal and Elliott’s struggles, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni still has faith in the eight-year veteran.
“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of confidence in [K] Jake Elliott,” Sirianni said Monday. “He’s been a good player for a long time here. He’s made a ton of big-time kicks. Like I said to you guys yesterday, the wind was a lot more than what you could tell from the stands. There were different types of wind there. And he’s made a lot of huge kicks here, recently and in the past. Confidence is very high with Jake because I know who he is, and I’ve seen who he can be.”
On Tuesday, Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay discussed Elliott’s issues from 50-plus yards.
“I think every kick is its own entity,” Clay said. “One of the kicks is from 60 yards. Your probability is not going to be great. The other one, [Browns DE] Myles Garrett, got on the 57-yarder. Nothing with Jake. We didn’t protect well enough right there. The 51 we missed, obviously. 52 we missed as well, and the other one was a 57-yarder. Everything breathes its own life.
“Again, if you ask Jake or myself or any of the specials, any time we go out there, we want to put three points on the board or one point if it’s an extra point. Again, there’s nothing to it in terms of, ‘Are you super worried about it?’ I think the confidence level is still high in Jake if you see his resume.
“Last year he was nails, but obviously it’s this year, and like you said, it’s 0-for-5. It is what it is. It’s the reality of the sport. The sky is not falling down in our eyes. We’re going to go out there.
“Tomorrow is another day, Wednesday, for Jake to get out there, put his best foot forward, keep the confidence going with him, and make sure– it’s the last month of the season. It’s going to come down to a kick at some point. When you have Jake in there, you actually have a good feeling that you can put it through the uprights.”
Sometimes, kickers get into a funk, and it appears Elliott could be in a little bit of a funk. In many ways, people take the kicking game for granted, but kickers play an important role, and you wonder how much confidence the team will have in Elliott near the end of the regular season and postseason.
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