NFL playoff team offers unexpected explanation for kicker’s woes
One reason for Jake Elliott’s kicking woes this postseason?
Saquon Barkley.
The Philadelphia Eagles running back is simply doing his job by reeling off long runs that end in the end zone. No player in NFL history has more touchdown runs of more than 60 yards in a season (six, including the playoffs). But his explosive scoring plays have an unintended consequence on the team’s extra-point operation.
‘You see No. 26 back there. He could take it 80 yards in the blink of an eye,’ Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay said Tuesday. ‘We just got to make sure we stay true to our process and not speed up with the adrenaline of the game.’
Both of Elliott’s extra-point misses in the divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday came after big runs from Barkley (in the fourth quarter) and Jalen Hurts (a 44-yard dash on the game’s first possession).
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On the first miss, Clay said Elliott pulled the kick left because he “just got too quick on it.” He added the “sudden change” and not having methodical drives by the offense to go through his usual process on the sideline impacted his accuracy.
“Nothing overbearing that I saw from him,” he said.
Elliott’s point-after miss against the Green Bay Packers the previous Sunday followed a 24-yard catch-and-run by Dallas Goedert that finished a drive in two minutes, 26 seconds.
Elliott’s only extra-point miss of the regular season came on Nov. 14 against the Washington Commanders, the Eagles’ opponent Sunday in the NFC championship game.
He’s made all six of his field goals during the postseason but is 2-for-5 on extra points after he finished the season 28-for-36 – the 77.8% conversion rate the second-worst of his career (73.7% in 2020).
“I don’t think Jake really dwells on it. … He’s the kind of guy that has almost like a golfer’s mindset,” Clay said. “You will hit a bad shot here as a golfer, but how do you bounce back from it?
“It really showed when he missed that first extra point. He bounced back with some good kickoffs and those three field goals to help us put some points on the board.”
Six of Elliott’s eight field-goal misses were from beyond 50 yards, where he finished 1-of-7.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said during a local Philadelphia radio station interview that he has no hesitation sticking with Elliott.
“I got a lot of faith in Jake and I know he’s clutch when we need him to be clutch,” Sirianni told 94.1 WIP.
The snowy and windy conditions Sunday against the Rams weren’t an excuse, Sirianni added, and he commended Elliott for bouncing back after his early miss. Elliott broke a 13-13 tie with a 44-yarder that tailed right but was true from the left hashmark, and he chipped in his final two attempts from 23 and 37 yards out, respectively (but missed the extra point after Barkley’s 78-yard jaunt).
“He misses an extra point early in the game and then nails three field goals, so I think it shows just the opposite that he is able to embrace the adversity,” Sirianni said. “Put it in the past and play the current play and that’s what I love about Jake.”
A fifth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017, Elliott resumed kickoff duties from punter Braden Mann – the holder for his kicks – for the final two weeks of the regular season. His main job, however, is to put points on the board, particularly in key moments.
Elliott’s second missed extra point against the Rams opened the door for a comeback. Had Matthew Stafford and Los Angeles found the end zone on their final drive and won 29-28, talk radio in Philadelphia likely would have had a field day bashing Elliott.
“I think everybody understands the nature of this business. It’s always production-based,” Clay said. “It’s not where I have to really harp on it. It’s pretty much black and white when you miss or make a kick.
“I’m never too hard on the guys. What’s the point of me beating a dead horse if they already know?”
