The Eagles won a thriller in their home opener yesterday, thanks to an unlikely hero. But with injuries to numerous key players, it isn't all rainbows and butterflies. Can the Eagles overcome the loss of Fletcher Cox and Jordan Hicks if the pair is lost for a significant amount of time?
But first, we start with the guy that everyone is talking about this morning:
Going Long
Jake Elliott didn't grow up dreaming of being an NFL kicker. In fact, he didn't even join the football team until his junior year of high school. When his high school team had an issue with their kicker, the coach recruited Elliott–who the coach saw kicking field goals two years earlier–to join the team and remedy the problem.
Six weeks later, Elliott knocked home a 52-yard, game-winning field goal.
It's hard to call the guy who was the first kicker picked in the 2017 NFL draft an underdog, but the 5-9 Elliott lost a kicking competition in training camp and was on the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad before the Eagles came calling, looking for a replacement for the injured Caleb Sturgis.
Elliott didn't exactly endear himself to Eagles fans in his first action last week, missing a 30-yard field goal at the end of the first half, but as far as Doug Pederson is concerned, there was little doubt the kick was going in.
"Quite honestly, I had so much confidence standing there, calmness," Pederson said. "I had just watched him kick a couple kickoffs extremely deep into the end zone. It was pretty awesome. Sounded like a cannon off his foot. "
61 yards. An #Eagles franchise record. What a moment for Jake Elliott! #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/F4qp10FMs1
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 24, 2017
Elliott's 61-yard, game-winning field goal was the longest kick in Eagles history, topping Tony Franklin's 59-yarder in 1979.
"It’s kind of all a blur to me," Elliott recalled after the game. "I just know the ball was in the air for a really long time, real close to that right upright."
We knew Jake had pretty good range," Carson Wentz added. "I wasn’t sure 61 was doable. You never really think that. But coach had a lot of faith in him, and he got it done. It was pretty crazy."
Jake Elliott's parents hitting us in all the feels while they watch their son kick a 61-yard game-winner. 😭pic.twitter.com/BUQ85SXKCf
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 24, 2017
Despite Elliott's heroics and his new-found celebrity, his position on the Eagles is far from solid. With Sturgis set to come back from the Injured Reserve in 7 weeks, Elliott could find himself on the street, without a job, before the season is even over. Although, if he continues to knock home 60-yard kicks, the Eagles will certainly find room for him on their 53-man roster.
Confidence is a big part of being a successful NFL kicker, but Elliott knows that he must stay level-headed and continue to produce if he wants to remain with the Eagles.
"I approach every miss and every make the same way," the rookie explained. "I have a one to two-minute rule, something I sort of kind of learned to do in high school, you miss a kick you have one minute to get over it, or you make a kick you have one minute to enjoy it and bounce back. I don’t dwell on it for too long."
But certainly yesterday's kick deserves a bit of adoration, no?
“I might give this one a day.”
Injury Report
Did Not Play: Rodney McLeod (hamstring), Jaylen Watkins (hamstring), Destiny Vaeao (wrist), Ronald Darby (ankle), Corey Graham (hamstring)
Fletcher Cox: The Eagles' star defensive tackle went down with a calf injury in the second quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game during half time. We still haven't gotten an update on Cox's status, but if it's a strain, he could be lost for the next couple of weeks, which would be a huge blow to the Eagles defense.
Darren Sproles: Sproles left the game in the second quarter after getting hit on an outside run and his arm collided with the defender's shin. Sproles went to the locker room and never returned. NFL.com's Ian Rapaport reported last night that Sproles has a broken arm, which would be another big loss for the Birds, albeit on the other side of the ball.
Jordan Hicks: The middle linebacker hurt his ankle in the first half and never returned to the game. Mychal Kendricks replaced Hicks in the Eagles' nickel defense, while Joe Walker made some good plays subbing in base packages. Hicks told ESPN's Tim McManus that his injury isn't very serious, so it seems him being available for next week's game isn't out of the question.
Measureables
28: The Eagles ran for 28 more yards yesterday than they did in their first two games of 2017 combined. After the game, Pederson said he made a vow to himself early in the week to commit to the run for the entire game, and he certainly stuck to it. Wendell Smallwood and LeGarrette Blount combined for 138 yards on 24 carries, good for 5.75 yards per carry, and Corey Clement added a 15-yard touchdown run to boot.
Moving forward, the Eagles certainly will not run the ball as frequently as they did yesterday, but yesterday's game proved that the team certainly has the talent to pound the rock.
.778: The Eagles have 14 of their last 18 games against the New York Football Giants, good for a .778 winning percentage. That's really impressive, especially against a division opponent. The Eagles have simply had the Giants number over the past few years, but still are under .500 all-time against the Giants, sitting at 83-86-2.
5.7: Wentz averaged just 5.7 yards per pass attempt yesterday, which is certainly less than ideal. The Eagles passing game never really seemed to get in a rhythm and Alshon Jeffery really struggled to shake Janoris Jenkins. Maybe the Giants were worried about the pass, and that is what opened up the running lanes, but Wentz missed on a pair of deep balls and the most explosive plays he managed were the pass interference calls on Eli Apple.
Turning Point
The Eagles and Giants were deadlocked at 21, when Giants right guard John Jerry decided to attempt some gamesmanship, by grabbing Eagles' rookie DT Elijah Qualls as he tried to run off the field:
Huge credit to the officials who noticed this and flagged Jerry for a delay of game, instead of hitting the Eagles with a "12 men on the field" penalty.
This penalty off-set a 7-yard completion to Paul Perkins that would've given the Giants a first down at the Eagles 11-yard-line. Instead, New York was pushed back and failed to convert a 3rd and 7 on the next snap and had to settle for a field goal that put them up 24-21. The Eagles were then able to kick field goals on each of their next two drives in order to win the game.
Without Jerry's penalty, the Giants may have scored a touchdown and put the game away for good.
Up/Down Drill
Up: Running Backs
The Eagles lost Sproles early in the game, but Blount, Smallwood and Clement really looked like a formidable group on Sunday. Blount was a tough runner who punished tacklers, Smallwood consistently moved the chains and had a few good blitz pick-ups, which is a huge step forward for him, and Clement, in his first real NFL action, looked like a guy who can be a contributor. Hopefully this is the start of a trend, and not just a blip.
Down: Chance Warmack
Warmack is a great run blocker, but he struggled early in the game and was replaced by Stefen Wisniewski, who looked far superior. Warmack allowed a sack early in the game and never really recovered, so it looks like he may be back to the bench behind Wisniewski from here on out. Not a great showing for a guy who just signed a contract extension in the offseason.
Up: Vinny Curry
Curry really struggled last year and it seemed like he, along with his big contract, would be out the door at the end of the year. But Curry has stepped his game up this year and looked very good on Sunday. He was instrumental in the Birds' goal-line stand at the end of the first half and beat up on Ereck Flowers all day.
Down: Chris Maragos
Maragos may be a good special-teamer, but he has proved to be absolutely dreadful on defense. He can't cover anybody man-to-man, gets lost in zone coverage and takes poor angles in the run game. Hell, on Sterling Shepard's big touchdown catch, Maragos not only took a bad route to the ball and missed the tackle, he also knocked down Patrick Robinson and hindered his ability to make a play. If Maragos is forced into action again next week, it could spell trouble for the Eagles.
Three-Step Drop
1. The Eagles may have won, but Pederson did very little to squash the doubts about his ability as a head coach. Going for it on 4th and 8 was questionable and his game management was poor. I'm certainly open to giving the coach time to figure things out, It's only his second year and he's tremendously inexperienced. If Wentz can be graded on a curve, why can't Pederson? Still, it's hard to see things trending upward for the coach.
2. The Giants may have been 0-2 coming into yesterday's game, and they may very well be a bad team, but they certainly looked desperate for a win, and you have to credit the Eagles for fending off every last punch New York threw at them. Eli Manning was elite in the fourth quarter, and he, along with Odell Beckham Jr., almost carried the Giants to victory on their own. Games against desperate teams can be traps for decent squads, but the Eagles were able to take care of business without four of their top defenders. Very impressive.
3. It was pretty easy to notice just how different the Eagles defensive line looked after Cox left with his injury. The pass rush slowed and running holes seemed wide open without Cox there to stuff the middle. The Eagles had no sacks yesterday, but Manning got the ball off quicker than any other QB yesterday, according to Pro Football Focus. It may not have been a shut out, but the Eagles defense certainly put together a gutty performance without a few of their leaders on the field.
Who's Next
The Eagles will fly out west this weekend to take on the winless San Diego Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers have developed a habit of losing heart-breakers recently, losing their first two games by a combined five points, before losing to Kansas City by 14 yesterday.
Just like the Giants, the Chargers are desperate for a win and they have a veteran quarterback who knows how to pick apart defenses. If the Eagles don't get a few players back healthy on their defense, it could be a long day for Jim Schwartz and company. On the other side of the ball, it would be nice to see the Eagles offense get both the running and passing game going at the same time in order to keep the Chargers vaunted defensive front off-balance. Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa combined for 3.5 sacks yesterday and could make life hell for Wentz if he's forced to drop back 40+ times.
