Eagles Insights: Jake Elliott's clutch kick, Jordan Davis' chase down, DeVonta Smith's efficiency

With most of the attention after the Eagles’ dramatic win over the Buffalo Bills going to Jalen Hurts, I wanted to empty the notebook with some thoughts and notes from elsewhere on the roster after reviewing the victory:

1. Whatever praise heaped upon Jake Elliott this week might not be enough. His value is immense, and his ability to deliver in clutch moments is rare. The 59-yard field goal to tie the game on Sunday was actually beyond the range the team discussed before the game. So what? He drilled it anyway. His understanding of how to kick in those conditions, with a low line drive delivered with force to avoid the swirling winds, is the sign of an experienced kicker. Elliott has connected on 8 of 9 field goal attempts during the fourth quarter and overtime this season. He has never missed a game-winning or game-tying field goal in the final two minutes or overtime. 

“Given the conditions, that was probably the toughest one I’ve had to hit (in my career),” Elliott said. “I don’t think I could rank it yet.”

Eagles fans should treasure Elliott, because there might only be one or other two kickers in the world who are in the same conversation with Elliott at this point.

2. Jordan Davis stood out when watching the film. He played 62 snaps — 18 more than any game in his career — and was effective throughout the game. Seeing him chase down Josh Allen in overtime to force Allen out of bounds does not show up in the stat sheet, but it’s the type of play that you don’t often see from someone of his size and should validate Davis’ motor and desire. In fact, Davis reached 16.96 mph on the chase down, according to NFL’s Next Gen stats — the second-fastest recorded time by a player 330 pounds or greater this season. 

This is not just a big man taking up space. This is a football player who wants to win. Nick Sirianni should show that chase down in team meetings. 

“He knows how much we need him in the best shape of his life, so he’s worked really hard at that,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “He has worked really hard at getting his weight of what it needs to be, his body fat of what it needs to be, his conditioning of what it needs to be, and he’s always a work in progress, but he’s really worked his butt off.”

3. DeVonta Smith is a marvel to watch. Whereas A.J. Brown’s dominance is obvious and overpowering, Smith’s is subtle. But he is so efficient. In the past four games, he has 23 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Most impressive? He has 26 targets. For a wide receiver to catch 23 of 26 targets shows that he knows how to get open and make contested catches. These aren’t all high-percentage passes. Look at the way he makes catches with contact or in tight windows, such as the touchdown on Sunday. And his ability to run his way open with his routes is almost artistic. The “technican” label is apt. 

The recent production also shows the truth with Smith’s numbers — give it time, and they’ll finish where you expected. There were questions earlier this year if he was in a down season. Look at him now and he’s on pace for 85 catches and 1,141 yards and eight touchdowns. Not quite 2022, but not far off. With the way he’s playing, he can make up ground on those projections.

4. At this point, the Jalen Carter hype seems to have reached extremes. But it’s warranted. When you watch the replay, he’s a factor on almost every snap he plays. He commands significant attention from the opposing offensive line (and officials can throw flags on the holds he seems to draw), and he’s so active on a down-to-down basis. Then there are little plays on the margin he makes that leave you floored, like the field goal block. The Eagles don’t win Sunday’s game if Carter doesn’t get his hand on the ball. Even something as small as trying to intercept the spike against Kansas City. There’s a “want to” that is clear. That shouldn’t get lost when considering some of the pre-draft discussion.

The Eagles lost a blue-chip player in Javon Hargrave. He’s terrific — a standout for the Eagles and is playing at a high level for San Francisco. But I’m not sure I would take Hargrave over Carter at this point, especially when considering what Carter is doing against the run. Go back to free agency in March and imagine suggesting the Eagles could draft an upgrade on Hargrave, one of the best players in the league.

5. Speaking of upgrades from the 2022 roster, D’Andre Swift’s talent should be obvious by now. The Eagles upgraded over Miles Sanders with Swift, even if he doesn’t finish with Sanders’ volume at the end of the season. Swift’s 36-yard rush was the longest play of the game against the Bills, and he now has five rushes of 25-plus yards this season. That’s more than Sanders had in either of the past two seasons.

And this is not to pick on Sanders — Swift’s big-play ability trumps most running backs in the NFL. Only Saquon Barkley and De’Von Achane have as many as 25-plus yard runs this season. The chunk plays have made the offense more dynamic and have come at opportune times.

6. One problem that cannot be overlooked: third-down defense — especially on third-and-longs. The Bills converted eight third downs of five or more yards, with conversions from 11 yards, 10 yards, three from nine yards, seven yards, and six yards, and five yards. A big reason the Eagles played so many snaps on defense was that they could not get off the field on third down. They can’t control three-and-outs on offense, but they can control getting off the field. The Eagles rank No. 30 in third-down defense this season. On third downs of seven yards or longer, the Eagles are allowing a 30.4 percent conversion rate, which ranks No. 29 in the league. This must be fixed to get the defense off the field.