No one felt worse about their performance in the Week 16 Washington Commanders game than Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott did.
During the second quarter, Elliott missed three field goals, with two of them only counting. He missed from 43 yards and 52 yards as the Eagles were down 10-7 at halftime. The Eagles bounced back in the second half as Philly went on to win 29-18 over Washington, but Elliott never attempted another field goal the rest of the game, just extra points.
After the game, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about Elliott's performance in the Commanders game. Sirianni took the high road of not throwing his kicker under the bus and defended him.
“He’ll respond and he’ll rebound from this," Sirianni said via SportsRadio 94 WIP.
No Eagles fan is saying that Elliott
Sirianni's MO with bad performances is to go to the press and back them no matter what. With his messaging of joy in 2025, the Eagles' head coach has always tried to stay positive with the media and defend all his players.
When it comes to Elliott, the Eagles have always defended him and have not looked to add another kicker despite his struggles dating back to last year. He went 1-for-7 on 50+-yard field goals in 2024, which was lucky for the team's Super Bowl.
This season, though, the missed field goals have affected the team. Elliott has missed at least one field goal in four of the last five games. He's gone 17 of 24 on field goals this season, good for a 70.8% field goal percentage, which is one of the lowest in the NFL, and it's the weakest of his career.
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The Eagles can't continue to ignore this Elliott problem, as this year's team is not good enough to cover it up offensively, not like last year's team. Field goals are going to be big down the stretch, so if Elliott can't consistently make them, someone has to come in to either push him to be better or replace him altogether.