November 27, 2023
No shade to David "Green" Akers, but any doubt over who's the best kicker in Eagles franchise history should be over at this point. Jake Elliott, a guy signed off the street six years ago, continues to routinely nail big kicks that keep having the Birds come up victorious.
The latest Elliott instant-classic field goal came in Week 12 against the Bills. On a windy, rainy, disgusting day at Lincoln Financial Field, Elliott nailed a 59-yard field with 20 seconds in regulation to send that baby to overtime, where the Eagles prevailed and moved to an NFL-best 10-1 record.
What are the biggest kicks in Elliott's career? I'll rank them. I tried to include video whenever possible, too.
Let's get after it...
Another messy weather day this season, Elliott was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week to open the year. 56 yards in slop conditions in a five-point win? The dude is so reliable.
This isn't the final Elliott kick against the Patriots on this list!
In the iconic 2017 NFC Championship matchup with Minnesota, the Birds were rolling. Patrick Robinson's pick-six ignited Lincoln Financial Field and the beatdown was on. The Eagles already held a 14-point lead, but stayed aggressive. They put Elliott in field goal range at the tail end of the first half. Elliott made a 38-yard field goal as the second quarter expired to give the Eagles a three-score lead that everyone in that stadium knew was bulletproof.
The kick was symbolic of the Eagles' total thrashing of the Vikings.
In the Eagles' first overtime win of this season, Elliott booted a 54-yard field goal to wrap up a win over a division rival and keep the Birds spotless in the loss column:
And that's how it ends 😔😔😔
— Not Quite An Athlete (@NQAA_Channel) October 1, 2023
Jake Elliott - 54-Yard Field Goal to save the Eagles from a Commanders Upset‼️#HTTC #NFL #PHIvsWSH #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/OgeSiyZQzc
Elliott won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his four field goals and two made extra-point attempts.
Take that Josh Harris!
This one is still fresh in Eagles fans' minds...
JAKE ELLIOTT FROM 59 YARDS IN THE RAIN
— NFL (@NFL) November 27, 2023
📺: #BUFvsPHI on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/1dOevJjoZZ pic.twitter.com/pIpxrFF6R7
The NFL world is inching dangerously close to Elliott being the league's most trustworthy kicker, even more so than Ravens future Hall of Famer Justin Tucker.
Elliott's game-winner against Houston was instrumental in keeping the Eagles' playoff hopes alive as Nick Foles Magic 2.0 spread throughout Philadelphia.
In what was one of the greatest Eagles regular season games of the century, Foles led a two-minute drill with the Eagles trailing by one, putting everything on Elliott's right foot. As time expired, Elliott's 35-yard kick was good, propelling the Eagles to victory and putting their record at 8-7.
The Birds would win the following week in Washington, stealing the final playoff spot in the NFC before cratering the Bears in the famed "Double Doink" game in the opening round of the postseason.
After a mind-boggling 20-yard completion from Foles went off the knee of Atlanta's Keanu Neal nd into the arms of Torrey Smith to put the Eagles in field goal position, Elliott took care of the rest:
#4DaysUntilKickoff
— Philly Bleed Green (@phillybldgreen) September 2, 2018
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🦅Jake Elliott 53 yard field goal vs Falcons🏈
°°°°
📽 @nfl
•••••
Use code BLDGREEN for $20 off your first order on tickets at SeatGeek
•••#PhillyBleedGreen #FlyEaglesFly #PhiladelphiaEagles #phillybldgreen #Eagles @jake_elliott22 pic.twitter.com/NSH3uGljer
Elliott's make made things a 10-9 game. The Eagles' offense was brutal that night. That field goal was massive for the energy at the stadium. Atlanta would not score a single point in the second half. Elliott would add two more field goals on the board for good measure after that, giving the Birds a five-point lead that necessitated a Falcons touchdown for an Atlanta win. They came up short and Elliott was a hero yet again.
Jake Elliott with the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the line? Not a problem.
Merry Christmas Philly!! Jake Elliott's go-ahead 48-yard field goal with 22 seconds left lifts the Eagles to a 13-10 lead, Derek Barnett's scoop-and-score seals a 19-10 win over the Raiders. Philadelphia clinches homefield advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs!!! pic.twitter.com/Y8y0ZmvCeN
— Kansas More Chaints (@AdrianFedkiw) December 26, 2017
If the Eagles don't have home-field advantage that postseason, they don't win the Super Bowl. Thank Elliott forever, Eagles fans.
The first, but absolutely not the final, 61-yard kick from Elliott on this list:
The 61-yarder by @jake_elliott22 is GOOD! #MINvsPHI on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2023
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/eMkDgB1MP1 pic.twitter.com/dXjX6iyt1y
Elliott, after that Thursday Night Football win, said that field goal was the toughest of his career at that point.
This is perhaps the most underrated play of the Eagles' entire Super Bowl run. A 46-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining in the biggest game of his life with Tom Brady on the opposite sideline is far from a chip shot.
Elliott knocked this one home, bringing the Eagles' lead from five points to eight and spelling doom for New England's final offensive drive.
How could the top choice be anything else? The butterfly effect of the Eagles starting 2-1 vs. 1-2 in that Super Bowl season cannot be overstated in the least. Elliott's kick changed the complexion of the Eagles' season, buried the Eli Manning era in New York and turned him into a forever legend in Philadelphia.
If there was a kick to sum up Elliott's clutchness, this would be it.⠀
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) December 28, 2019
⠀
7⃣ Jake Elliott's 61-yard field goal⠀
📅 September 25, 2017⠀
🏟️ Lincoln Financial Field⠀
📍 Philadelphia, PA⠀
FINAL SCORE: 27-24, #FlyEaglesFly⠀ pic.twitter.com/B07Oz68wXr
That's the beginning of, without hyperbole, one of the most clutch players in this city's history.
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