Eagles fans outraged as Jake Elliott misses extra point after Jalen Hurts' touchdown - "He needs to be fired"
Jake Elliott is usually one of the NFL's most reliable kickers, but his performance on Thursday seemed to be a deviation from his usual consistency. In addition to missing two field goals, he made a rare and costly mistake for a kicker – missing an extra point.
That happened after his Philadelphia Eagles took the lead against the Washington Commanders on a quarterback sneak touchdown by Jalen Hurts.
The miss sparked significant fan frustrations, with one saying he should be fired.
Additional reactions of frustration can be seen below:
"Two missed FGs, and now an extra point — WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH JAKE ELLIOTT??" one said.
"Doing a fantastic job trying to get cut tonight," another said.
"Wild," another added.
"That s**t could come back to bite us in the ass," another cowered.
Despite this, Elliott rebounded, hitting his next two extra points to go with his pair of field goals from earlier in the game, helping the Eagles win 26-18.
Jake Elliott has been part of the Eagles' special teams struggles
On paper, the Eagles have a complete offense and defense are stacked with playmakers like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Jalen Carter and Darius Slay, who can dominate games.
However, the special teams have been criticized for not meeting elite standards, having committed several blunders. These include Jake Elliott's missed field goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars and a blocked attempt against the Cleveland Browns, which Rodney McLeod returned for a touchdown.
These errors marked his first misses from 57 yards or more for the season, and special teams coordinator Michael Clay believes such mistakes can be "catastrophic" to the team's success. Last month, before the Eagles' 28-3 win over the New York Giants, he said:
"Those are things that kill a season, a team right there. We have to make sure we get rid of those going forward. ... It falls on me. I've got to do a better job in a situation of telling these guys, high alert for this."
He continued:
"When players make mistakes, you have to take it as a learning curve not just for that moment, but for the rest. Because in the NFL, until you prove you can stop it, you're going to see it again.”
Elliott was perfect on extra points during the Giants game, not needing to attempt a field goal. He was also flawless in the following week’s matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.