Jake Elliott’s stunning 54-yard game-winner on Sunday might unfortunately get lost in a bucket full of great moments that the Eagles’ kicker continues to make seem ‘normal’.
After a chaotic game against the Commanders went to overtime in the most unthinkable way, it was clear the Eagles would need a clutch performance from an individual in order to seal the deal. While many fans would turn to Jalen Hurts or Darius Slay among others in that situation, the truth is that very few are as clutch as Kicker Jake Elliott. On Sunday, that proved to be the case once more.
With 3:58 left in overtime, Jake Elliott stepped onto the field with 54 yards between him and the uprights. It wasn’t the longest field goal he’d ever attempted, (I’m sure we all remember his heroic 61-yard effort several years ago…oh, and the one a few weeks ago!), but the pressure was just as high.
The ball sailed through the posts without a shadow of a doubt and in turn pushed the Eagles to a 4-0 record. On a day where Jake Elliott became only the third ever Eagles kicker to record 100+ appearances for the team, he also came up when the team needed him most and added yet another fairytale to his ever-growing library of works.
Jake Elliott kicks his way into the history books
That 54-yard conversion was the longest overtime winner by an Eagles kicker since the 1970 merger. It’s also the fourth 50+ yard field goal he’s kicked this season, with is an astonishing feat given that we’re only four weeks into the season. He needs just one more to break his career-high of 5 set in 2017.
Nick Sirianni was quick to compliment his kicker after the game, jokingly admitting that most of the time he can’t even look when the game is on the line.
I look at Coach Clay [Special Teams Coordinator Michael Clay], he points at me or gives me one of these [looks] if we miss. I was looking at him and he hit me with that [thumbs up]. And I don’t know if I was really even that surprised. Jake’s just clutch. Jalen and Jake just played clutch games today and really happy for them.
I’m sure all fans can relate to Sirianni’s sentiment, but the scary part is those moments rarely feel huge anymore. Jake Elliott has been so reliable for so long that it feels like a run-of-the-mill kick. His greatness is rarely appreciated because he’s so good so consistently that we misplace it as normality.
So, Mr Elliott, here are your flowers. The Philadelphia Eagles are 4-0 and while much can be debated about how they’ve got there, nobody will have even a remotely average word to say about the form of the teams’ kicker, who is currently converting a career-high 93% of field goals despite already kicking 4 from 50 yards or longer.
Jake Elliott could well be on the path to immortality in the same way David Akers is held in the highest regard by those residing in the City of Brotherly Love.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
