Jake Elliott’s 53-yard before halftime is déjà vu for him — and Giants
The Eagles' Jake Elliott, right, kicks a field goal as Donnie Jones holds during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff game against the Falcons, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP / Michael Perez
PHILADELPHIA – Giants fans may have felt a flashback watching the closing moments of the first half in Saturday’s NFC playoff game between the Eagles and the Falcons.
The Eagles certainly did.
“[Kicker] Jake [Elliott] told me: ‘Just keep catching balls and getting of bounds with one second left and I’ll make them,’” wide receiver Alshon Jeffery said.
That’s exactly what happened back in Week 3 when the Giants were playing the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Well, almost exactly.
For the Giants, it happened at the end of the game and it resulted in a 63-yard game-winning field goal of the Eagles. It was, many believe, the point where the Giants’ miserable season went irrevocably south.
“The start of the downfall of our year,” Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall posted on Twitter on Saturday while watching the play.
The play against the Giants was part of a larger crumble that covered the final 51 seconds of that game. The Giants went ahead 24-21 with 3:08 remaining and the Eagles kicked a field goal to tie it with under a minute remaining. Then the Giants had a pair of offensive penalties, a shanked punt, and a 19-yard completion from Carson Wentz to Jeffery between cornerbacks Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins to get to the 43 and out of bounds with one tick left. That’s when Elliott, the Eagles’ first-year kicker, came out to nail the 63-yarder. The Eagles went to 2-1, the Giants fell to 0-3.
On Saturday, it was a 15-yard pass from Nick Foles to Jeffrey to get to the 35 with one second remaining. Elliott came out to kick a 53-yarder to make it 10-9 at halftime.
“I kind of had déjà vu going back to the Giants game,” Elliott said of Saturday’s experience.
For him, it was a pleasant sensation.
For the Giants and their fans, that’s unlikely.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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