All year in 2026, Philadelphia Eagles enthusiasts watched the wins and losses in horror. Fans watched the cracks widen. The warning signs were there, moments that felt survivable in September but dangerous in January.

One of those cracks lived on special teams. Jake Elliott has been a concern for a while, even if no one inside the building has said so publicly. The fear was simple: What if this costs them in a huge moment? What if this costs the team in an important game? What then?

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Well, it doesn’t get any bigger than the playoffs, and for the third time in five seasons under Nick Sirianni, the Eagles were bounced on Wild Card weekend. Elliott missed one of two extra points. The miss loomed large. It appeared the Eagles’ fears had come to pass.

Had he converted, Philadelphia’s final drive could have forced overtime instead of chasing four points. Instead, the Eagles needed a TD to win, and most didn’t believe they’d be able to deliver one. We all know how things turned out.

Howie Roseman offers another Jake Elliott endorsement.

And even then, how confident are we that a long game-tying kick would have felt automatic? There was a time when Elliott was one of the league’s most dependable weapons. That version feels distant. Over the past two seasons, he’s just 5-of-15 from 50 yards and beyond.

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For a team with championship aspirations, that’s not a small dip. It’s a liability. Still, public confidence remains intact. At the NFL Combine, Howie Roseman spoke with the media and, among other things, offered another endorsement.

“I think that Jake has been a tremendous kicker for us since we got him off the practice squad in Cincinnati in 2017. Tremendously clutch. Have a lot of confidence in him as a player, as a kicker, as a person, a captain on our team, and continue to believe in him as our placekicker.”

That’s loyalty. Kudos are in order for such. Sure, that’s leadership, but it also feels like a denial of what’s become increasingly obvious.

No one is suggesting Elliott hasn’t been a great Eagle. He has, but this is a results business, and sentiment can’t outweigh production, especially when he represents a $4.89 million cap hit in 2026.

At some point, belief has to meet reality, and if the Eagles are serious about closing the gaps that cost them in January, they can’t ignore the one that keeps showing up in plain sight. They, at minimum, need to find some competition, and at most, they must find Jake Elliott’s replacement this offseason.

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This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Jake Elliott receives backing from Howie Roseman at the NFL Combine