3 Eagles on Thin Ice After Philadelphia’s Ugly Week 14 Win Over Panthers
By Jovan Alford
The Philadelphia Eagles dramatically won their ninth straight game on Sunday, defeating the Carolina Panthers, 22-16. It wasn’t an easy game for the Eagles, who were listed as 13.5-point underdogs.
The Panthers have played better football lately, taking the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the brink in recent weeks.
That didn’t change on Sunday as Carolina gave itself a chance to pull off a huge upset late in the fourth quarter. But the Eagles’ defense came up with the game-sealing stop, as cornerback Darius Slay had a clutch pass deflection on fourth and nine.
Even though the Eagles won on Sunday, the fanbase is not pleased with Jalen Hurts’ play, the passing game, and kicker Jake Elliott. Below, we’ll discuss a few players on thin ice after another Eagles win.
These players won’t necessarily get cut or benched this season, but they need to play better if Philly wants to make a deep playoff run and get to the Super Bowl.
1. Jake Elliott
This season, it’s been a strange year for kickers across the NFL. Baltimore Ravens All-Pro kicker Justin Kicker has fallen back to earth, while other teams have seen their kickers have gone down with injuries.
The Eagles aren’t dealing with the injury bug at kicker, but Elliott has taken a massive step back this season. The 29-year-old kicker went 2-for-2 on extra points but missed a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter.
That third-quarter miss by Elliott played a part in the Eagles’ decision-making late in the fourth quarter. Instead of lining up for another long field goal, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni sent out punter Braden Mann, who did an excellent job of pinning the Panthers inside the five-yard line.
Elliott hasn’t made a field goal from 50-plus yards out (0-for-5) this season after making 7-of-8 from that distance last season. The veteran kicker has also missed six field goals this season (18-of-24), which isn’t what the Eagles expected after signing him to a four-year, $24 million extension in the offseason.
Therefore, Elliott has no choice but to fix his woes. Sirianni still believes in him, so now he has to go out and execute. If Elliott can make one 50-yard field goal before the regular season ends, it could do wonders for his confidence. The Eagles still have four games left on the schedule, so the opportunities will be there for Elliott.