NFL notes: Philaelphia rookie carried off field after kicking winning, 61-yard field goal
Jake Elliott ran over to coaches and begged for a chance to try the longest field goal in team history.
They said yes – and he nailed it.
Elliott kicked a 61-yarder as the clock expired to lift the host Philadelphia Eagles to a 27-24 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.
The kick was the longest game-winner in NFL history for a rookie and a franchise record. Elliott was a fifth-round pick by the Bengals and joined the Eagles after Caleb Sturgis was injured in Week 1. He was carried off the field by two teammates.
“I’m thankful I had the opportunity to try it,” Elliott said. “I wanted it.”
Elliott missed from 52 yards earlier in the game and last week missed from 30 yards and shanked an extra point.
“It’s surreal, but it’s the life of a kicker,” Elliott said. “You have ups and downs and you move onto next week.”
Eagles coach Doug Pederson conferred with special teams coach Dave Fipp before sending Elliott on the field.
Falcons escape
with help from rule
The Atlanta Falcons escaped Detroit, holding on for a win thanks in part to an NFL rule that went in their favor.
Matthew Stafford’s pass to Golden Tate was ruled to be just short of the end zone in the final seconds after a review, allowing Atlanta to beat the Lions 30-26 on Sunday.
The call on the field was touchdown when Stafford connected with Tate on a slant from the 1 with 8 seconds left, but it was overturned because the receiver was down before the football reached the goal line. By rule, 10 seconds had to run off the clock and that ended the game because Detroit didn’t have any timeouts.
“Had the call on the field been correct initially, the clock would have run out,” Fox analyst Dean Blandino, an ex-NFL officiating chief, explained in a tweet: “That’s the spirit of the rule.”
Lions coach Jim Caldwell said Stafford could have taken another snap if the call on the field was made correctly initially that Tate was down inside the 1.
Londoner gets
to play in Wembley
Baltimore Ravens rookie offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor, born in London, not only is active for the first time in the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, he has played.
Eluemunor got onto the field at right guard several times, beginning in the first half.
A fifth-round draft pick out of Texas A&M, he was 12 when he saw the first NFL game played in London on television and decided he wanted to play football.