Pat McAfee sings praises of Jake Elliott after Eagles kicker continues to impress - “Had to earn everything”
Former Indianopolis Colts punter Pat McAfee hailed the performance of Jake Elliott in the Philadelphia Eagles' 34-28 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday.
The Eagles' biggest highlight of the first half, and arguably the entire game, was from kicker Jake Elliott, who connected on this 61-yard attempt:
Jalen Hurts was not the best player in the air, throwing for under 200 yards and just one touchdown while being intercepted once. However, he contributed strongly to the Eagles' ground dominance, scoring two touchdowns via his trademark sneak. D'Andre Swift, the team's primary rusher, had a touchdown, too.
Pat McAfee reacted to Elliott's kick:
I love this man.. had to earn everything too. HELLL YEAH @jake_elliott22 from 61
What is the longest field goal of Jake Elliott's career?
The 61-yard field goal is the joint-longest of Elliott's career (and longest in Philadelphia Eagles history).
He also made one from the same distance with one second remaining to beat the New York Giants 27-24 on Sept. 24, 2017. It remains the longest field goal by a rookie:
After the game, Elliott had said:
"It's kind of all a blur to me. I usually don't go out that long during the course of my (pregame) warm-up. I usually go out to 50, 56, maybe 57 and call it a day from there.
"(The post-game celebration) was awesome. I was just kind of running around trying not to get hurt."
Then-starting quarterback Carson Wentz and then-head coach Doug Pedersen also gave their reactions:
Wentz: "I knew seven seconds was definitely pushing it with that route, but in those situations you just have to take some chances... To fight until the end, have that comeback, put that drive together and kick that game-winning field goal, that was huge for us. It shows growth and definitely something we can build on."
Pedersen: "Quite honestly, I had so much confidence standing there, calmness. "I just watched him kick a couple kickoffs extremely deep into the end zone, and it was pretty awesome. Sounded like a cannon off his foot, great snap, great hold, protection was there. Yeah, awesome."
The Eagles would reach the Super Bowl that season, beating the New England Patriots 41-33. After Jake Elliott kicked in a 46-yard field goal for what eventually became the final scoreline, Tom Brady failed to connect on a Hail Mary pass as the clock expired.