Eagles kicker Jake Elliott keeps his cool and nails a 54-yard game-winner

Long before kicker Jake Elliott made game-winning overtime field goals through NFL uprights, he learned how to thrive in pressure-packed situations while playing baseball and tennis in his adolescence.

Whether he was at the plate in baseball or rallying to stay alive in close tennis matches, Elliott came to understand at a young age how to avoid breaking under tension while growing up in La Grange, Ill.

“It’s just kind of something I’ve always done and always felt real comfortable in for whatever reason,” Elliott said. “I just really love those situations.”

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So when the Eagles called upon Elliott to nail a walk-off, 54-yard field goal and seal an overtime victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, he didn’t need to scrounge up some ice in his veins. The ice has always been there.

The Eagles defense forced the Commanders to go three-and-out to start overtime. Then the Eagles offense drove from its own 41-yard line to the Washington 36 to bring the field-goal unit out for Elliott’s attempt on fourth down.

Ice-cold, calm, and collected, Elliott made the field goal to give the Eagles the 34-31 win. The operation — featuring new punter and holder Braden Mann, who was signed to the Eagles practice squad nearly two weeks ago — went off without a hitch.

“Jake is nails,” Mann said. “I think I could put that ball sideways and he’d still make it.”

Punt returner and wide receiver Britain Covey, who is Elliott’s self-described best friend on the team, had to restrain himself from running out on the field too early in jubilation, afraid of potentially incurring a penalty. But when the ball hit the netting after sailing through the uprights, Elliott’s teammates flocked to him to celebrate.

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Left tackle Jordan Mailata hoisted Elliott in the air Simba-style, creating his own reenactment of The Lion King. The game-winner capped off a flawless day for Elliott, who went 4-for-4 on his field goals and 2-for-2 on his extra points.

“When you have that trust in somebody who’s very consistent, and who is Jake Elliott, it helps a lot to be able to rely on him if we need to in gotta-have-it moments,” Mailata said. “We have gotta-have-it moments on offense and defense. And you have that also on special teams, and that was one of them. The guy came through when it mattered most.”

Elliott had the mindset that the game was going to come down to him kicking a field goal in the fourth quarter when the Eagles were driving with the ball at the two-minute warning, the score tied at 24. But quarterback Jalen Hurts connected with wide receiver A.J. Brown for a 28-yard touchdown pass to put the Eagles up, 31-24, with 1 minute, 43 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Commanders responded instantly with a scoring drive of their own, as wide receiver Jahan Dotson, a Penn State alumnus, hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass on the final play of regulation. Commanders head coach Ron Rivera opted to settle for the extra point and take his chances in overtime instead of going for two points and the win.

“I was thinking that was going come down to me there in the fourth quarter and then obviously had the long touchdown pass and prolonged it a little bit,” Elliott said. “But try to get into that mindset on the sideline. Knowing it’s coming down to me, really zoning in. But it’s the same every kick. I have a process. I’m hitting balls into the net on every down and just kind of visualizing every kick.”

At the end of regulation, the Commanders won the coin toss and elected to receive. But the Eagles got to choose the direction that they wanted to kick. Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox got to make the call, but it was Elliott behind the decision to kick toward the south end zone, which is the closed end of Lincoln Financial Field.

Typically, Elliott finds it easier to kick field goals in the closed end due to its superior conditions. On Sunday, Elliott said it was “gusty and swirly” in the stadium, making the closed end the preferred side for a field-goal attempt.

Sure enough, the flip of a coin set Elliott up to kick a field goal in his desired end. Now, according to the team, Elliott’s 54-yard field goal is the longest game-winner by an Eagle in overtime since the 1970 merger. While the Eagles haven’t had many pretty wins in their 4-0 start to the season, the fact that the team is finding different ways to win is what matters in the long run, according to Elliott.

» READ MORE: Yes, the Eagles are 4-0, but they can be better. And they’ll have to be.

“It’s putting us in great situations where we face adversity and you feel a little pressure,” Elliott said. “You get into those pressure situations and I think those situations where you’re going to feel them down the stretch late in the year into the playoffs, it’s good to have those to look back on and learn from. It makes people feel more comfortable in those pressure situations.”

After all, learning how to overcome situations teeming with pressure throughout his lifelong athletic endeavors was what catapulted Elliott to the top of his craft as a kicker.