Was Eagles K Jake Elliott the Real MVP?

With their 15-10 victory over the Falcons on Saturday, the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship for the first time since the 2008 season. Philly's defense paired with solid play from quarterback Nick Foles received a lot of deserved praise. However, the complexion of the game would've been completely different without this kick (and a couple others) from Jake Elliott.

Without those three points, Matt Ryan and the Falcons would be down by two, rather than five, on their final drive in the 4th quarter. The reigning MVP drove the Falcons 74 yards down the field before an incompletion from the two-yard line forced a turnover on downs.

Elliott scored 9 of the Eagles' 15 points on Saturday. The day started off a bit rough for the rookie who missed an extra point after LeGarrette Blount's one-yard TD run in the 1st quarter. However, Elliott made up for it by nailing the longest field goal in Eagles postseason history right before halftime.

Elliott is no stranger to making historic field goals in clutch situations. You may remember this 61-yarder -- the longest in Eagles history -- to get Philly a 27-24 victory over the Giants in Week 3.

Elliott seems to do his best from long distances, hitting 17 of 19 field goals when kicking from 40-plus yards in the regular season. From distances less than that, he's 9 for 12.

His Cinderella-esque story includes not playing organized football until his junior year in high school and being cut by the Bengals only three weeks before his 61-yard game winner.

It's no secret how underappreciated kickers have always been. There are only 5 kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Mark Moseley -- in all likelihood -- will be the only placekicker to ever win MVP. That being said, without them putting the ball through the uprights, in pressure filled situations, many teams wouldn't be playing in late-January, including this year's Eagles.