Philadelphia Eagles: Arryn Siposs needs to rebound from Week 18
In Week 18, the Philadelphia Eagles largely relied on their reserves to bring the regular season in for a landing.
Outside of Jason Kelce, who played a snap to keep his streak alive, and DeVonta Smith, who played a quarter to secure the franchise’s rookie receiving record, the Eagles almost exclusively relied on backups across the board to face off against the Dallas Cowboys, with only one other “typical” starter, Quez Watkins, gracing the starting lineup.
One unit that didn’t receive a reprieve in Week 18, however, was Michael Clay’s special teams, as kicker Jake Elliott, long snapper Rick Lovato, and punter Arryn Siposs all had to strap on their helmets and go to work for one final game at the Linc.
For Siposs specifically, that Saturday in January was probably one he’d like to forget.
The Philadelphia Eagles need a bounce-back performance from Arryn Siposs.
In 2021, the calendar year not the NFL season, Arryn Siposs was pretty good for the Philadelphia Eagles.
From Week 1-16, he booted the ball 50 times for an average of 45.1 yards per punt and helped to give the Eagles’ foes field position within their own 20 on 15 occasions.
Are those, like, Pro Bowl numbers? No, probably not, they’re actually relatively average numbers league-wide, but for a team like the Eagles who occasionally go cold for a quarter at a time, his performances played a role in the team going 6-2 from Weeks 8-16.
But for whatever reason, call it a New Years hangover, or an aversion to the cold, those average averages didn’t travel from 2021 to 2022. No, in a very unfortunate twist of fate, Siposs’ game had either taken a turn for the worse or strung together two of his worst contests as a pro.
How bad are we talking? How about an average punt length of 32.2, with a ghastly average of 29 on three attempts versus the Dallas Cowboys?
Yeah, that’s pretty bad.
While Siposs’ production didn’t ultimately “decide” either contest, as the Eagles were as good against the Football Team as they were predictably bad against the Cowboys, when the playoffs roll around, and one poor punt could be the difference between a three-and-out and three points on the board by an offense that employs Tom Freakin’ Brady, having a reliable field flipper is a useful tool.
For all of the good Jake Elliott has brought to the table, setting a new franchise record for regular season field goal percentage, Siposs’ end of season struggles has made the Eagles’ special teams far more of a question mark than they would like heading into the most important game of the year.
Again, maybe Arryn Siposs had some sort of 2022 hangover. Maybe he’s still adjusting to the cold, icy Pennsylvania winters versus his native Melbourne, Victoria and his collegiate home of Auburn, Alabama, and a trip down to Tampa Bay – who technically play their games in Tampa, Florida – will be just what the doctor ordered to inject some life into his leg. Let’s hope that’s the case, as the Philadelphia Eagles could use the player who averaged 44 yards per punt versus the Buccaneers back in October.