Jake Elliott’s 2025 struggles being swept under the rug by offense’s issues

With 3:10 left in the fourth quarter of Black Friday’s loss to the Bears, a four-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown cut Chicago’s lead to nine. If the Eagles kick the extra point, it is a one-score game. If they go for two and convert, the deficit becomes seven, a much easier route to tying up the game.

The general consensus is to play it safe and take the point. However, the analytics, and Nick Sirianni, suggest going for two. That is what the Eagles did.

On that two-point conversion, no Eagles receivers could get open, Jalen Hurts was pressured, had to scramble a bit, and threw a low and incomplete pass on the run to a covered DeVonta Smith towards the back of the endzone. The score remained 24-15, and ultimately ended that way.

It is easy to criticize Sirianni for the decision. Taking the extra point is a more uncontroversial alternative, and it still is a one-score game.

However, the Eagles would have never been in this situation if Jake Elliott had made the extra point back in the third quarter after Brown’s first touchdown. The score would have been 24-16, leading to an extra point to make it a seven-point game. Even if you go for two and do not convert on it, it is still just an eight-point deficit and a one-score ballgame with three minutes to go.

The Eagles have had massive struggles on offense. Whether you want to point it at Kevin Patullo, Hurts, the run game, or whoever. Elliott is a part of the offense, and he is having a disappointing 2025.

Coming off a Super Bowl 59 performance where he kicked a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals, he has made just 75% of his field goals this season, which is 37th in the league. He is just 70% on field goals over the past six weeks. From 50+ yards this season, Elliott is 3-for-6 and is 0-for-his last 3.

Not only did Elliott miss the extra point, but at the very end of Friday’s game, he hooked a 52-yarder well left.

The NFL today has kickers banging in 60+ yard field goals with ease. Cam Little of the Jaguars this season hit from 68 and even 70 in the preseason. The Eagles, right now, have a kicker where, if you are pushing 50, you have to hold your breath.

Now, the Eagles have much bigger issues to deal with, but Elliott has not been living up to his typical elite standards this season. This even goes back to last year, when Elliott made just 77.8% of his field goals, and he was just 1-for-7 from 50+ yards.

Elliott is 30 years old and has been a really good kicker in his nine seasons here in Philadelphia and in the NFL. But he has disappointed in these last two regular seasons, following a career year in 2023, where he posted a 93.8 field goal percentage.

Now, a lot goes into kicking. The snap and hold both have to be perfect. If your foot is a centimeter off the desired spot on the ball to kick, the ball could either still be right down Broadway or wide. It is an art.

Still, for a kicker as reliable as Elliott has been throughout his career, these last two seasons raise real uneasiness. It is a small storyline amid the Eagles’ larger offensive problems, yet one that should still not be ignored.

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