The two points that you couldn’t see on the scoreboard loomed huge when the Los Angeles Rams got the ball back with 2:23 to play and 82 yards away from beating the Eagles with a touchdown.
They trailed 28-22 at the time, but the two points that weren’t there were the two missed PATs from kicker Jake Elliott. Otherwise, it would have been 30-22 and the Rams would have needed a TD and a successful two-point conversion just to end the game into overtime.
“I didn't see it going any other way than us winning that game, 29-28,” said L.A. coach Sean McVay. "Twenty-nine to 28 was all that I saw. There was nothing you could tell me that it wasn't going to go down like that.”
It didn’t thanks to defensive Jalen Carter, who ended the game with a pair of breathtaking plays, a sack and great pressure to force an early throw on fourth down that fell incomplete.
Strange as it may sound, the Eagles don’t win the game without Elliott, either. Yes, he missed two PATs for the second time in his career. The other time came in just his seventh game with the Eagles back in 2017 when he was 1-for-3 in a 33-10 win over the 49ers. The misses against the Rams were infuriating at the moment because it gave them a chance to steal a win and end Philly's season.
“The first one he was way too fast with it,” said special team coordinator Michael Clay on Tuesday. “Nothing overbearing that I saw from him. Just got too quick on it. He pulled left.”
Elliott missed one PAT in 48 tries during the regular season. In two playoff games, he is 2-for-5.
Really, what more can the coaches say, except continue to express confidence? After all, David Akers isn’t walking through the door.
Elliott, though, went 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts in some of the most brutal conditions he said he had ever kicked in. None were easy, especially the 44-yarder that broke a 13-13 tie with 2:19 to play in the third quarter. He was also good from 23 and 37 yards. He was 28-for-36 on field goals during the season, but in two playoffs game he is now 6-for-6.
“Everyone saw the conditions right there; 44 yards in those conditions is extremely tough,” said Clay. “Again, comes back to his mindset. You know, whenever our numbers are called, try to the best of our abilities to put points on the board, and he did.
“He hit a good ball. Started to leak a little bit to the right but it was a true ball. Any way we can get points on the board, and you saw those three field goals really came down and helped us out in the end of it.”
Perhaps the most overlooked part of how Elliott helped win this game was the kickoff he had after Jalen Hurts took a safety and had to kick off from the 20. Just because the ball is pushed back 15 yards from where it is usually kicked fdoesn’t mean the ball can’t land outside the landing zone, which is from the goal line to the 20.
Elliott booted the kickoff 66 yards to the Rams’ 14. A 21-yard return set them up at the 35. It could’ve been worse. The kicker and Carter (again) prevented it from being worse after Carter forced a fumble on just the second play after the safety.
“That's one of the plays that kind of gets lost in translation because I don't think people really understand the ruling is if it's a 25-yard penalty if you don't get it to that landing zone,” said Clay. “Jake hit a knuckle ball, got it far enough. It was a good job by the returner catching it, but good job by our coverage getting him down at the 35.
“If it was a 25-yard penalty from the line of scrimmage and we put the defense at the plus 45, that's a lot of yardage that we could have gave up. I thought Jake did an unbelievable job in those conditions into the wind, snow. Then our coverage guys going down there.”
This isn’t a defense of Elliott, because he has become a major concern. There’s a good chance the Eagles’ kicker may not see a ninth season with the team next fall, but that’s a decision for another time. Right now, there’s an NFC Championship Game to be played against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
