Cameron ‘Dicker the Kicker’ boots the Eagles past the Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Somewhere, Mr. Gonzalez from seventh-grade science class was probably celebrating when Cameron Dicker kicked the 23-yard field goal that lifted the Eagles over the Cardinals, 20-17, on Sunday.

Or maybe he waited until Arizona’s Matt Ammendola, like Dicker, an emergency kicker signed last Tuesday, missed a 43-yarder wide right that would have knotted the score with seconds remaining at cavernous State Farm Stadium.

But Mr. Gonzalez, if he actually watched his former student’s NFL debut, and stuck around for Jalen Hurts’ postgame interview, must have smiled when he heard the Eagles quarterback use the nickname, however obvious it may seem now, he gave Dicker over a decade ago.

“Our kicker made ours, theirs didn’t,” Hurts said. “‘Dicker the Kicker’ from UT, how about that?”

Dicker said he embraces the moniker. In fact, it’s his Twitter handle.

“It goes around a lot. It’s easy to say for everybody,” said Dicker, the temporary replacement for Jake Elliott. “So you hear that a lot.”

He must have heard “Dicker the Kicker” about a dozen times from various teammates, coaches, and Eagles personnel as he conducted his postgame interview in the visitors’ locker room Sunday.

Dicker was just the latest incarnation of everything seemingly coming up Eagles. On a day when their offense stalled after racing out to a 14-0 lead, and their defense seemed to regress into its 2021 form, the Eagles survived the pesky Cardinals and dubious play-calling by their coaches.

And they endured more injuries, to their offensive line, and ultimately at the one where there was the most uncertainty. But Dicker, only an Eagle for five days, proved their evaluation correct, and was the unlikely hero as they remained the only undefeated team in the NFL at 5-0.

The 22-year-old, baby-faced Texan not only booted the clincher, but also split the uprights from 42 yards early in the third quarter, connected on both extra points, and had touchbacks on four of five kickoffs.

In other words, he was perfect.

“All the credit to him. He made the kick in a huge moment,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “He made another kick in a big moment, too, and was perfect in his extra points. The guys really embraced him. They put their arms around him. That’s our team.”

A week ago, he was a virtual unknown in the Eagles locker room, except for maybe the few players who knew he had kicked a 40-yard game-winner as a Longhorns freshman vs. the Sooners. The quarterback of that Oklahoma team: the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray.

The Eagles knew about that kick a few days later, though. Sirianni, perhaps to ease the minds of his players, showed a clip of Dicker’s Texas highlight last week during a team meeting.

“Cam, Cam,” Sirianni said during his postgame speech, “that one feel little bit better than Oklahoma-Texas?”

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With the score tied, 17-17, Hurts drove the offense to the Arizona 5-yard line with less than two minutes remaining. When his third-down pass fell incomplete, Sirianni sent out the kicking unit. Dicker walked out, too, but the Cardinals were charged a timeout for an injured player, and then there was a TV timeout tacked on.

So Dicker ran back to the sideline and kicked a few more balls into his practice net.

“There’s no reason to just stand there and doing nothing,” he said. “I didn’t know how much time was left, so I walked back out there again, and ref goes, ‘A minute-and-a-half.’ Geez, didn’t need to be out here yet.”

He then walked about 50 yards away from the spot, stood alone, and swung his leg through the air a few more times, before finally getting the opportunity to attempt what is normally a gimme.

“It’s one you can miss. It’s one if you over-hook it, it’s a missable kick,” Dicker said. “But it’s something you should go out and make every time.”

Ammendola’s kick was longer, obviously, but there was also more on the line. Make it and the game goes into overtime. Miss and it’s over. And it’s not like he had a quiet stadium full of Cardinals fans, either. Eagles fans, once again, were well represented on the road.

“It makes life a lot easier,” Dicker said, “when half the stadium is Eagles fans.”

Sirianni said the Eagles actually considered Ammendola, a North Penn product, when Elliott injured the ankle on his right kicking leg last Sunday. Ammendola kicked against Dicker in college at Oklahoma State, and they also trained together for a period.

But it was Dicker who got the call on Monday morning.

“Eight a.m. Just getting out of bed,” said Dicker, who had been with the Ravens through the preseason, mostly to spell All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker. “Got a call from my agent, and it was, ‘Hey, you’re flying to Philly.’”

He wasn’t alone. Jake Verity was also brought in to work out and kick alongside him.

“I felt I did better,” Dicker said. “I was confident walking into it.”

He signed a practice-squad contract on Tuesday night, but knew he was likely to get called up to the roster with Elliott unable to practice. By Sunday, he said he was ready and confident.

“I know that I’m loved no matter what by God, by my family, girlfriend, the people in my life, my close circle,” Dicker said when asked to explain how he remains calm. “No matter what happens out there, I’m loved. Miss a kick, make every kick, it doesn’t matter. Nothing changes.”

Dicker was born in Hong Kong and lived in Shanghai until his family moved back to the United States when he was 11. He said he was mostly a soccer kid growing up but also tried football. Initially he was on the offensive line, hated it, and decided to try kicking.

That’s when he first heard “Dicker the Kicker.”

“Mr. G,” Dicker said of his seventh grade science teacher.

It’s a nickname that could end up just a small part of Eagles lore with Elliott likely back soon. But Dicker certainly made a name for himself.

“One thing I told him after the game,” Hurts said, “I know this league moves at a fast pace, and for him to come in and get that phone call and be ready to answer, and play the way he played today, I have a lot of respect for him.

“He helped this team out a lot today. And he created a lot of value for himself.”

Long snapper Rick Lovato recalled when he got the emergency call for his first game with the Packers in 2015 and said that just getting successful game repetitions on film for a specialist created opportunities for him in the NFL.

“One game,” Lovato said, “can turn into an entire career.”

No matter his future, Dicker will always have this one game.

“Hopefully,” he said, “it will open some doors for me.”