A few days away from seeing one of the worst games in Jake ElliottDuring his career, special teams coordinator Michael Clay said his confidence hasn’t wavered in the veteran Eagles kicker.

Elliott missed two field goal attempts and an extra point Thursday in the Eagles’ 26-18 win over the Washington Commanders, highlighting an unusually shaky season for the 29-year-old. He’s missed all four of his 50-plus yard attempts this season and his total of five missed kicks already matches the total he had in the previous two seasons combined.

In evaluating the three errant kicks, the most Elliott has ever had in a game when considering both field goals and extra points, Clay said the consistency of the misses gave him actually gives assurance that they were more of an aberration than a warning sign. Pointing to the right-to-left spin Elliott had on each kick, Clay said the kicker’s aim might need to be adjusted rather than any of his actual mechanics.

“Sometimes it’s just not your day,” Clay said Tuesday. “We’d probably be a little more nervous if the ball was being thrown everywhere, but if you saw all three kicks, they missed in the exact same place. Right next to that vertical left. It was a draw and it kind of overwhelmed him with a bit of wind. When the spray chart is all over the place and you don’t really have an answer to that question, I think it’s a little more concerning. When the spray board is there within a few inches, you say, “Okay, I can solve this problem with my aim point more than anything else.” »

» LEARN MORE: Jake Elliott’s bad night was a kick in the pants for Eagles fans. They shouldn’t worry.

Elliott, who signed a four-year contract extension worth up to $24 million last offseason, recovered after missing from 44 and 51 yards against the Commanders. He made a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter, a 31-yarder in the third, and also gave the Eagles a nine-point lead with an extra point in the fourth quarter in response to his missed PAT an earlier drive.

Clay has repeatedly said he has “supreme confidence” in Elliott despite his regression this season. Elliott was named a second-team All-Pro last year, going 30-of-32 on field goals (7-of-8 from 50 yards or more) and missed just one extra point on all season. Clay also mentioned that Elliott is hitting the ball well despite the drop in accuracy.

“For him, I think it’s just a little matter of aim,” Clay said. “It’s all 20-20 hindsight. If he came back to it, he would play it a little more to the right, but I don’t think he would change anything about the way he hits the ball. It was a good contact; the ball was just falling from right to left, it drew and the wind pushed it.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had a similar message immediately after the match.

“He’s going through a tough time,” Sirianni said. “But this team believes so much in Jake Elliott because of his record, who he is, his teammate and the captain he is.”

Elliott has had rough years in the past, most recently in 2020 when he missed five field goals, including two from within 30 yards. Yet he has now tied his previous career high for missed goals in a season with eight games remaining.

Although the Eagles won’t return to the practice field in earnest until Wednesday, Clay noted that Elliott spent time “hitting balls” on Monday to get his rhythm back. Heading into the playoffs, the Eagles will need him to do just that as the weather changes and the stakes rise with each game.

“We all know that in these close game situations, especially in the second half of the season, it comes down to a big punt,” Clay said. “So we have supreme confidence in Jake going forward and I know he will have supreme confidence coming back out there and going to work (Wednesday).”

Fangio rejects ‘rookie wall’

Although its secondary relies heavily on a pair of rookie cornerbacks playing at a high level, Vic Fangio is not afraid of the proverbial wall of recruits.

The Eagles defense ranks among the best in the league in most metrics, basic or advanced. The group has allowed the fewest yards in the NFL, fewest passing yards per attempt, and ranks fifth in defense-adjusted value relative to average, a measure of efficiency that takes into account the strength of the adversary.

» LEARN MORE: Quinyon Mitchell throws coming-out party as Eagles defense stifles Jayden Daniels and Commanders

When asked how he manages Quinyon Mitchell And Cooper De Jeantwo central figures in the team’s secondary, the defensive coordinator downplayed the notion that the extended length of the NFL season would catch up with first-year defensive backs as it has for rookies in the past.

“Back then you could hear the rookies hitting the rookie wall,” Fangio said. “I don’t think this recruit wall exists anymore. Because back then, we had two a day at training camp. And when you had a rookie that you thought would play, you coached him a lot, he played a lot in the preseason games when there were four of them. Well, that doesn’t happen anymore, so I don’t buy the rookie wall anymore. It’s not physical, it could be mental or emotional, but it’s not physical anymore in my opinion.