Eagles Question of the Day:
Same question as the headline. Do the Eagles merely hope that Jake Elliott plays better? Should they sign a kicker to the practice squad? What do you want them to do? Head over to The Feed and weigh in with your answer and explanation!
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …
Roob’s Observations as Eagles head to playoffs for fifth straight year – NBCSP
Let’s talk about Jake Elliott. Last nine games, he’s missed seven field goal attempts, going 11-for-18 during that span. His first miss Saturday was a pedestrian 43-yarder and his second was a 52-yarder after a penalty following a 57-yard miss. Three misses, two counted. He’s now the first Eagles kicker to miss seven field goals in a nine-game span since Chris Boniol from Week 2 through Week 10 in 1997. And his 61.1 percent accuracy since Week 7 is worst by an Eagles kicker in a nine-game span since Roger Ruzek was 6-for-12 in a nine-game stretch in 1992. Chris Boniol? Roger Ruzek? You don’t want to be mentioned in the same sentence as those guys. What’s most concerning is that Elliott is missing routine field goals. A 41-yarder in Minneapolis. A 48-yarder against the Chargers. A 43-yarder Saturday in Washington. Before this year, he was 92 percent inside 50 yards. This year, he’s 81 percent. League average is 91 percent. It’s bad when he misses the 50-yarders. But it’s really alarming when he can’t hit the chippies. And then when Nick Sirianni is going for it on 4th-and-7 instead of letting Elliott attempt a 56-yard field goal to tie … that’s bad. Elliott was 8-for-9 from 56 yards and out in his first seven seasons but is 2-for-8 the last two years. The Eagles converted the fourth down on a penalty, but it’s really bad when you just don’t have faith in your kicker to make a field goal he used to make routinely. I know he was a Super Bowl hero, but that was eight years ago. I know he was a Pro Bowler, but that was four years ago. Right now, Elliott is the worst kicker in the league. Do you let Elliott keep trying to work out of it? I’m not sure. As crazy as it seems considering his career, the Eagles have to consider finding another kicker. Not next year. Now.
Eagles veteran responds to replacement talk after rough game: ‘That’s out of my hands’ – NJ.com
“Just frustrating, man,” Elliott said after the game about his performance. “I felt like I had a really good pre-game, striking the ball really well. First one, just got a little quick on. Second one, I actually felt like I hit pretty good and wind kind of just took it late, but just got to play it a little bit more and know that it’s going to happen.”
Eagles at Commanders: The good, the bad, and the ugly – BGN
The Eagles made good on their cap-and-t-shirt game against the lowly Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium on Saturday afternoon, clinching a playoff berth as the first repeat winners of the NFC East in 21 years. The Eagles came away 29-18 winners and did it in many ways despite themselves, starting with special team stumbles, like Will Shipley’s fumble on the game’s opening kickoff, three missed field goal attempts, and some indecision near the goal line on another kickoff return. The Eagles are now 10-5 and it is the fourth-straight season that the Eagles have won double-figure games, which is the third time in franchise history the Eagles have done that behind the five-year runs of Andy Reid’s 2000-2004 teams and Buddy Ryan/Rich Kotite’s 1988-1992 teams.
In a first half defined largely by special teams play by both teams (Washington good; Philadelphia bad), the Commanders held a 10-7 lead at halftime. Starting Commanders QB Marcus Mariota was injured when his right hand was stepped on in the second half. Third-string QB Josh Johnson couldn’t move the offense, and the Eagles slowly took over the game, finishing with the win by a score of 29-18.
Inpredictable has the Eagles’ chances at getting the 2 seed at 18 percent. The 2 seed is valuable. It would guarantee that the Eagles would play home games in the playoffs until at least the NFC Championship Game. The 3 seed would only guarantee one home game in the Wild Card Round. The 2 seed is worth chasing. But also, the Eagles can see how Week 17 plays out, and if they’re locked into the 3 seed at that time, they can rest starters ahead of the playoffs. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to allow Johnson and Carter to get their sea legs back Week 17 in Buffalo, assuming they are not at risk of tweaking their respective injuries.
Dan Quinn on Eagles late two-pointer: We’ll see them again in two weeks – PFT
After the game, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said at his press conference that he did not think scoring one more point was “running up the score” and that he thought the math of defending a 19-point lead “was a little bit better” that trying to defend an 18-point one. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn seemed to have a different idea about whether the Eagles were going too far. “Yeah, I can only answer from my side, what I would do,” Quinn said in his press conference. “If that’s how they want to get down, all good. We play them again in two weeks.” That Week 18 game could matter to the Eagles for seeding purposes, but they’re unlikely to play many regulars if it doesn’t and the injury-riddled Commanders may also be filling the lineup with unfamiliar names so we’ll see how much carryover there is beyond the eternal bad blood between the two sides.
Division Champs! – Iggles Blitz
I do feel better about the team. They are now 10-5 and have won two in a row. They will get Jalen Carter and Lane Johnson back at some point. The offense is showing signs of life. The defense continues to be outstanding. They held Washington to just 220 yards. They needed some luck to get to 18 points. Next Sunday will be a real test for the Eagles. Going to Buffalo is never easy. That will give us a better idea of where this team is. For now, enjoy being NFC East champs.
NFL Week 16: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game – ESPN
Turning point: Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean intercepted Josh Johnson’s pass late in the third quarter, setting up a Barkley touchdown run that pushed the lead to double digits. Johnson entered the game in the second half for an injured Marcus Mariota and made a critical miscue when he threw across the field on third-and-long. DeJean swooped in for the interception, and the Eagles reached the end zone seven plays later. Stat to know: Dallas Goedert’s third-quarter score was his 10th receiving TD of the season, tying Pete Retzlaff (1965) for the most by a tight end in Eagles history. Goedert, who is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, had never had more than five receiving TDs in a season.
Fran Duffy: This team really is a rollercoaster on offense, and that makes them tough to peg as the playoffs inch closer. On one hand, the talent is the talent. We know what Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert are all capable of on an individual play basis. Any given snap they can make you pay. We also know that the product has just not been good enough this season on that side of the ball, and that was absolutely the case in this game. The timing and rhythm was off in the passing game. Penalties were called. Balls were on the ground. Hurts missed throws. Play calling late in the half once again left people scratching their heads. It’s just a really hard group to feel confident in going into the postseason. Defensively? That’s a group you can hang your hat on. The run defense can be a bit leaky at times, but the rush was present, the coverage was tight, and there were plenty of good plays to point to against a bad Washington team. They looked how they should look against that unit. I wish I felt better about this team, as a whole, than I do right now.
Spadaro: 10 takeaways from an NFC East-clinching win over the Commanders – PE.com
Jordan Davis continues his big season. Washington really tried to pound the middle of the defensive line with its physical running game and finished with 90 yards on 26 carries. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis stepped up once again, contributing six total tackles (four solos). He was too strong inside for the Commanders and Davis, once labeled only as a run stopper, also penetrated the backfield. He is a complete player and his game has grown enormously in a 12-month period. Gold star for Davis.
Cowboys eliminated from NFL playoffs in Week 16 and you can blame the Eagles – Blogging The Boys
There is a lot of introspection that is necessary from the Cowboys these days and their current playoff drought is representative of that. We talk often about how this team hasn’t been the same since they were bounced from the 2023 Wild Card Round and obviously the evidence here speaks for that as well. We now know conclusively that there are only 3 games left on the season for the Cowboys. We also know that their drought for Super Bowl and/or NFC Championship Game appearances (the drought that Stephen Jones didn’t understand to exist) will officially grow to 30 years. It is not an approximation or a rounding up. It is reality.
NFL Week 16 betting advice: Giants-Vikings picks and props – Big Blue View
The line on FanDuel is MIN -2.5, with a game total of 43.5. Temperatures in the 40s accompanied by light to moderate winds are expected in East Rutherford on Sunday afternoon, so December weather shouldn’t be an issue. My picks were 2-1 last week. Both of my props hit, but my spread bet on the G-Men missed. The line and total are stay-aways for me this week. I’m done trying to predict if on any given week these Giants will cover a number, and especially with their special teams regularly costing them points. For a team that’s 2-12, they’re maddening to handicap against the spread (7-7 ATS).
NFL playoff picture: What does Bucs-Panthers mean for NFC South standings in Week 16 – SB Nation
The two teams head into this game with the Bucs sitting in first place due to the common games tiebreaker. If they split these final two games and both teams win in Week 17, the Bucs will claim the division title with the common games tiebreaker. We won’t know whether the Week 18 contest in Tampa matters until after both teams wrap up Week 17.
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