Cameron Dicker effect: Eagles become the second team in NFL history to earn honors in the first 5 weeks
As Jake Elliott remains limited, the emergency kicker Dicker helped the team with yet another standout performance.
With their Week 5 win over the Cardinals, this year’s Eagles squad became just the third team in franchise history to begin the season with five consecutive victories. Along the way, the Eagles also have been recognized accordingly by the league.
On Wednesday, rookie kicker Cameron Dicker was named NFC special teams player of the week. Dicker’s honor enabled the Eagles to become just the second team in NFL history to win consecutive player of the week awards in each of the first five weeks of the regular season.
Week 1 special teams player of the week: Cornerback Zech McPhearson
Week 2 defensive player of the week: Cornerback Darius Slay
Week 3 defensive player of the week: Defensive end Brandon Graham
Week 4 defensive player of the week: Linebacker Haason Reddick
Week 5 special teams player of the week: Kicker Cameron Dicker
Additionally, quarterback Jalen Hurts was named the NFC offensive player of the month in September.
The only other team to earn such honors over the first five weeks was the 1991 Buffalo Bills, who finished 13-3 and lost to Washington in the Super Bowl. The Eagles are the first team since the 2005 Chicago Bears (Weeks 8-12) to receive player of the week awards in five consecutive weeks. The ‘05 Bears finished 11-5 and lost in the divisional round.
Dicker, who was signed to the practice squad last week as a replacement for the injured Jake Elliott, knocked through all of his four kicks (two field goals, two extra points), including the go-ahead field goal, in the Eagles’ 20-17 victory over the Cardinals. He also handled kickoff responsibilities.
» READ MORE: Cameron ‘Dicker the Kicker’ boots the Eagles past the Cardinals
While Dicker was perfect in his NFL debut, Cardinals fill-in kicker and Lansdale native Matt Ammendola missed the potential game-tying field goal at the end of the fourth quarter.
“It’s a pretty cool thing to have that,” Dicker said Wednesday afternoon in front of his makeshift locker. “I think it’s meant for everybody on that unit. I wasn’t really thinking about it at all. I saw it walking into the facility today as I was arriving from the hotel.
“It was fun. It was a great day out there. I had fun with everybody. It was cool how the team just brought me in and allowed me to enjoy the moment. Every time I came off to the sideline after every kick, the guys were all mobbing me.”
Coach Nick Sirianni awarded Dicker with an honorary game ball, which he placed on the top shelf of his stall.
In the days that followed the victory, Dicker, 22, has had more than 100 friends and family members reach out with congratulatory messages. He even unexpectedly heard from an old friend in Hong Kong, where Dicker was born and spent the first decade of his childhood while his father was working in supply chain management.
Asked if he was aware that his award kept the team’s player of the week streak intact, Dicker had no clue.
“I did not even know that,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to help out and keep that going.”
Dicker’s future with the Eagles isn’t exactly clear. The team is hoping Elliott, the full-time kicker since 2017 and one of the seven team captains, returns soon from the right ankle injury he sustained in Week 4. His participation would have been limited if the Eagles had practiced Wednesday. There’s a slim chance the Eagles keep Dicker around on the practice squad.
Regardless, Dicker proved he’s capable of kicking on the highest stage, and he has put together quality film that’ll help him with any future opportunities across the league.
“It was a great atmosphere to be able to be part of,” Dicker said. “[Elliott] told me congrats, and how happy he was for me and what I was able to do out there.”
Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday