If the Eagles-Packers game comes down to a potential game-winning field goal in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, what's your confidence level in Jake Elliott?
There’s no easy answer.
Elliott has been so good for so long for the Eagles. He’s never missed in the postseason. He made two huge 4th-quarter Super Bowl field goals as a rookie. From 2021 through 2023 he was the 6th-most accurate kicker in the NFL, making more than 90 percent of his attempts and over 70 percent from 50 yards and out.
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Totally clutch.
And then this year he’s just been bad. His eight misses tie the most by an Eagles kicker since Roger Ruzek missed nine in 1992, and his 39-yard miss Sunday in the win over the Giants was his shortest of the year.
Eagles special teams coach Michael Clay has been around Elliott for four years now and said Tuesday Elliott’s confidence remains as high as ever and he’s not concerned with his shaky season.
“I think Jake, being around him so much and personally just talking with him, I think his confidence is still very, very high in what he's doing,” Clay said. “Obviously, he missed that 39-yarder off the left hash, and he thought the wind was going to play a little bit more of a factor on the ball. But he struck the ball well in terms of that he goes back and he's always going to be his hardest critic going forward.
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“But nice for him to come back and hit those two (after the 39-yard miss). They were shorter field goals, but it's also nice to see the ball go through the net right there.
“So he's been striking the ball well. It's not like the ball has been fluttering or barely getting there. It's one of those things where we have to keep the confidence that he has and that we have in him, because going forward, we know it's no longer the regular season. All the points matter for us to advance in the postseason.”
Elliott finished 28-for-36 on field goal attempts this year, and his 78 percent accuracy ranked 26th of 32 kickers who attempted at least 17 kicks.
His eight misses equal his total number of misses over the last three years, when he was 80-for-88.
Most alarming was his lack of success from 50 yards and out. After making 26 of 37 kicks from at least 50 yards from 2017 through 2023 — 70 percent was 10th-best in NFL history — he was 1-for-7 this year for 14 percent. The rest of the NFL was 194-for-272 from 50 yards and out for 71 percent.
That's the worst percentage from 50 yards and out since Neil Rackers was 1-for-7 for the Cards in 2006.
Elliott is one of the greatest postseason kickers in NFL history. Nobody who watched Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis seven years ago will ever forget how he made incredibly high-leverage 4th-quarter field goals of 42 and 46 yards against the Patriots as a rookie.
Overall, he’s 16-for-16 in the postseason, the 4th-most attempts among kickers who’ve never missed. Robbie Gould was 29-for-29 in his career, Evan McPherson of the Bengals is 19-for-19 and Chris Boswell of the Steelers 17-for-17.
“You almost fall victim to, you know, he had such a high percentage the last three seasons,” Clay said. “You’re like, OK, he's going out there, it's automatic.’ But just like in everyday life, nothing is always given to you. It's just for us to go back to our training, and for him, just keeping that confidence.”
What’s crazy is that six of Elliott’s misses have come at the Linc, where he had missed only 16 of 112 attempts (85 percent) from 2017 through 2013.
Elliott was 15-for-21 at home and that 71 percent was worst among all NFL kickers who attempted more than 10 field goals at their home stadium. That 71 percent is the worst home percentage by an Eagles kicker since Norm Johnson made 67 percent in 1999 (10 of 15), and his six home misses were the most by an Eagles kicker since Paul McFadden missed seven of 16 attempts in 1986.
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