Eagles in Crisis Mode as Kicker Jake Elliott Has Become Team’s Biggest Liability Heading Into Playoffs

It’s no longer a mild concern sprinkled in talk radio between conversations about the offensive line, the quarterback, the play caller or buried in the game box score. It is front and center now and the red flag is more blinding than Rudolph’s nose on Christmas Eve. The Eagles have a kicking problem and it is impossible to ignore.  You can’t go ostrich on this one and hope the problem goes away because let’s face it this Philadelphia Eagles team is not last year’s Philadelphia Eagles team.  Despite clinching the division a game earlier than they did last year the 2025 Eagles, if they are to make their way to Repeatsville, they will do it the way that they were able to log 10 wins so far this season, with good defense, smart, timely offensive plays and field goals.  

It’s Not Good

Over his last nine games, Elliott has missed seven field goal attempts. He is 11 of 18 in that stretch. That’s a conversion rate of 61.1%.  Right now he ranks near the bottom of the league (24th) among qualified kickers with a conversion percentage of 70.8 (38/54). Is that bad? Well, it’s not good.  

Saturday was the breaking point. A missed 43 yarder that should be automatic. Then a 57 yard attempt wiped out by penalty. Then a 52 yarder that missed anyway, the same way, wide left. Three misses. Two officially on the stat sheet. One very real in terms of trust.

Bad Company

The historical company is ugly.

Elliott is now the first Eagles kicker to miss seven field goals in a nine game span since Chris Boniol from Week 2 through Week 10 of the 1997 season. His 61.1 percent accuracy since Week 7 is the worst nine game stretch by an Eagles kicker since Roger Ruzek went 6 of 12 during a stretch in 1992.

What makes this stretch truly alarming is not the long misses. It is the routine ones. The kicks that used to feel inevitable.  

A 41 yard miss in Minneapolis.

A 48 yard miss against the Chargers.

A 43 yard miss Saturday in Washington.

The Infected Slide

In the recent three game slide he missed kicks against the Cowboys and Chargers that probably would have ultimately swung the outcome in the Birds’ favor.  They’d be sitting in the cat-Birds seat right now as the number one seed in the NFC.  I won’t even throw in the missed PAT he flubbed against the Bears on Black Friday that sucked the air out of the Linc and the momentum that went with it, causing his team to chase that point the rest of the second half, unsuccessfully.

Before this season, Elliott was converting 92 percent of his field goals inside 50 yards for his career. This year, that number has dropped to 81 percent. The league average sits at 91 percent.

Alarm Bells Ring Are You Listening?

Missing from 50 plus is one thing, missing the chippies is something else but missing both is alarming and and the most telling signal of all came from the sideline.  When Birds head coach Nick Sirianni chose to go for it on fourth and 7 in the third quarter of the Commanders game Saturday rather than allow Elliott to attempt a 56 yard field goal to tie the game, it said everything. The Eagles converted thanks to a penalty, but the message was clear. The faith is gone along with the trust that Sirianni once had in his usually reliable special teams’ star.

That matters because Elliott built his reputation on those moments. In his first seven seasons, he was 8 of 9 from 56 yards and beyond. Over the last two years, he is 2 of 8. The kicks that once defined him are now being avoided.

Yes, Elliott was a Super Bowl hero. That was eight years ago and he was mostly deadly in last year’s Super Bowl run, going a near perfect 9/10 in the post-season and 15/17 on PAT’s.  But if you recall the two extra points he missed in the Divisional round game against the Rams allowed L.A. to come within 13 yards of eliminating the Birds from the playoff dance.  Fortunately they survived and advanced but if they are to do the same this post-season they need Elliott to be a weapon once again and not a liability.  Right now he’s the latter.

What To Do?

So here is the uncomfortable question the Eagles are facing.  Do you keep hoping this works itself out?  Last time I checked, hope isn’t the best strategy.

Normally, patience makes sense with a proven veteran. Normally, you trust the body of work. But the Eagles are not in a rebuilding year. They are not experimenting. They are trying to win tight games in January and nothing swings playoff football faster than missed field goals.

As crazy as it sounds given Elliott’s career, the Eagles have to at least explore alternatives. Not in the offseason and not as a contingency plan. Right now.

Because when the head coach would rather risk fourth and long than trust his kicker, the decision is already creeping into the building.

And it is a real concern that has to be addressed

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