Rhetorical question –

Have you complained about Jake Elliott this year?

Me neither. He’s been pretty damn good. So good, in fact, that’s he actually having his most accurate kicking season, ever.

Let me give you his numbers:

  • total field goals: 18 for 20 (90%)
  • FG 20 to 29 yards: 5 for 5 (100%)
  • FG 30 to 39 yards: 5 for 5 (100%)
  • FG 40 to 49 yards: 5 for 7  (71.4%)
  • FG 50-plus: 3 for 3 (100%)
  • extra points: 29 for 29 (100%)
  • touchbacks: 40 (64.5%)

That touchback number is whatever. Different teams have different philosophies on returning, and ever since the rules were changed, that’s a statistic that’s much less important than it used to be.

But Elliott is 100% on extra points. Hasn’t missed a single one. For some context, he’s missed at least two every single season he’s played for the Eagles. He’s never fallen below 90%, but through 11 games is currently perfect, which is impressive. He’s one of just six kickers in the NFL with a 100% mark.

As for field goal kicking, there’s always required nuance. Distance, conditions, ball placement, etc. For what it’s worth, Elliott was only 14-19 in field goal kicking last season, but three of those misses were from 50+. The other two were from 20-29. He was in a funky thing where he was accurate from 30-50, but struggled on the fringes. This year, his only two misses are from 40-49 yards, while he’s nailed all three 50+ kicks.

His updated career stats:

The Eagles don’t kick a ton of field goals (they’re about middle of the pack in attempts), but Elliott has quietly has been incredibly reliable. He’s having himself a really nice season, and if he continues at this pace he’s going to post career highs in FG% and XP%.

Let’s show some love to the kicker.