Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Elliott provides another kick for Birds
PHILADELPHIA » There was grumbling and screaming, praying and cussing, roars of glee and groans of exasperation in the Linc Saturday as the Atlanta Falcons went on a 74-yard march to a possible victory.
To Jake Elliott, it was all just background noise.
Already a possible hero in what would be a 15-10 postseason victory for the Eagles, but also squarely in line for criticism had it all turned wrong, Elliott was in no position to watch the final Atlanta drive.
“I was over in the net, warming up the whole time,” the Eagles’ kicker was saying afterward. “You have to be ready for those situations.”
As it would happen, the Falcons’ final effort would fail with 58 seconds left and Elliott would not be required to respond with a very, very late potential game-deciding field goal. By then, his blood pressure was due for a gentle letdown.
“The life of a kicker,” he shrugged. “Ultimate ups and ultimate downs.”
On a day when the Eagles scored one touchdown, Elliott provided three field goals, including a go-ahead 37-yard pop with 11 seconds left in the third quarter and a 21-yard effort with 6:02 left that would require Atlanta to score a touchdown to win.
However, he rammed a second-quarter PAT off the upright in a play that would haunt in a tight, win-or-perish game. To boot, he slid a late-third-quarter kickoff out of bounds, giving Atlanta what at the time seemed valuable possession at the Birds’ 40.
“You just try to stay the course,” he said. “You just stay level-headed the whole game.”
Elliott needed to be ready after the Eagles pushed to the Falcons’ 3 with 6:05 left. Doug Pederson, ever aggressive, might have ordered a fourth-down touchdown attempt. Instead, he trusted Elliott to inflate a 12-10 lead to five points.
“Whatever his decision is, it is fine,” Elliott said. “Obviously, if you score a touchdown there, you put it to a two-score ballgame and kind of put the ballgame away. So you kind of have to look at it both ways. I am glad we went up by five and obviously held them at the end there.”
While the decision was important for Pederson, everything was that way for the kickers on a day when the Linc winds were particularly stinging.
“It was definitely tricky out there,” Elliott said. “It was just really gusty. You don’t really know what it’s going to do out there, so you just have to try to hit the best ball you can and take care of what you can control.”
Elliott was able to control a 53-yard field goal, drawing the Birds within 10-9 as first-half time expired. It has been that kind of a year for a kicker who was added only to replace the injured Caleb Sturgis, but who has moved within one victory of the Super Bowl.
“It’s definitely been an emotional roller coaster this whole season,” he said. “This team brought me in with open arms and trusted me from the get-go. To be here and be with these guys and be one of the last four teams standing is pretty special.”