Jake Elliott’s coaches and teammates say they’re still confident in him, but all that really matters is Elliott’s confidence in himself.
And that’s still there too.
“Confidence is fine,” Elliott said after Wednesday’s practice. “Came in today, hit the ball well. I’m only going to go off the last time I hit a football and that was today and it felt good.”
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Elliott, 29, is having his worst season in the NFL.
He has made just 18 of 24 field goals (75%) and is 0-for-5 from 50+ yards. Every other kicker who has attempted at least 5 field goals from 50+ this year has made at least 2. And around the rest of the league, kicks from 50+ have been going through the uprights 72.2% of the time.
While he hasn’t made a kick of over 50 yards this season, Elliott doesn’t see any themes in those misses.
“Not really,” he said. “Every kick is very different, every condition is very different, every situation is very different. Not a whole lot of commonalities there.”
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Here’s a list of those misses this season:
Week 3: 60-yarder wide right in New Orleans
Week 6: 57-yarder blocked and returned for TD vs. Cleveland
Week 9: 57-yarder off the right upright vs. Jacksonville
Week 11: 51-yarder wide left vs. Washington
Week 14: 52-yarder wide right vs. Carolina
The average length of those misses is 55.40 yards and it’s probably notable that 4 of the 5 have come at the Linc. On Sunday against the Panthers, there was a lot of wind, which Nick Sirianni said played into his decision to pass up a 55-yard field goal in favor of a punt in the fourth quarter.
While many saw that decision as a sign that Sirianni had lost trust in Elliott, the veteran kicker didn’t see it that way. And, according to Elliott, it didn’t hurt his confidence.
How is he able to keep his head up during a season like this?
“It’s part of the gig but that’s also part of how you gotta rebound at this position,” Elliott said. “I understand that it’s a very black-and-white position so when things aren’t going great, you have to be able to respond quickly and fix them fast.”
There’s no doubt that Elliott has been great for the Eagles in the past. Before this season, Elliott was arguably already the best kicker in franchise history.
He entered 2024 with a career field goal percentage of 90.9%, which ranked second among kickers with at least 80 attempts since 2021. And he had already made a franchise-record 27 field goals of 50+ yards in his career. He has also made all 16 of his field goals in the postseason, including 5-for-5 in Super Bowls.
This season, Elliott’s field goal percentage of 75% ranks 23rd out of 28 kickers in the league who have attempted at least 20 field goals
“I’m not a stats guy. I’m not a stats guy at all,” Elliott said. “I never look at them during the year. If you asked me what my percentage was right now, I’d have no idea. I really am a game-to-game, kick-by-kick person. Every kick is very different. I know it’s a black-and-white position and it’s easy to dissect from the outside but I hit the ball great today, feel good about where I’m at and just keep going.”
Some fans have theorized that by making punter Braden Mann the kickoff guy, it has hurt Elliott, who comes into field goal chances cold. While Elliott said he understands the theory, he said that’s not getting him out of a rhythm.
His method for getting through a slumping season is pretty simple.
“I just keep swinging,” Elliott said. “I know the numbers don’t look great right now. I feel pretty good with where I’m at hitting the ball. I know a couple of the long ones haven’t gone through. I own that and I wish they all went through. But like I was just telling him, every kick is very different. I missed a 52-yarder in pretty windy conditions. Obviously, I want to make all of them. But that’s not always realistic all the time. Unfortunately, some of them haven’t gone through.”
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