Cody Parkey had nine of the Chicago Bears’ 15 points Sunday, but he missed the three points that mattered most.
Trailing 16-15 with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Chicago’s Wild Card round tilt with the Philadelphia Eagles, the kicker hit the upright and crossbar on the same kick, missing the would-be game-winning 43-yard field goal. He had been iced on the previous snap, but knocked down what essentially was the practice attempt.
Parkey has been maligned all season, due in large part to hitting four uprights in an overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 5. He also rung one off the post in another game this season.
After the game Parkey was pretty candid about what happened.
“I feel terrible,” Parkey said, via NFL.com. “There’s really no answer to it. I thought I hit a good ball.
“It’s one of the worst feelings in the world to let your team down,” the 26-year-old added. “I feel terrible. Continue to put things into perspective, continue to just put my best foot forward and just sleep at night knowing that I did everything in my power this week to make that kick and for whatever reason it hit the crossbar and the upright.”
He also added this pretty brutal quote.
An NFL kicker is a pretty thankless job. Seldom are they remembered fondly, rather shredded for the inevitable missteps throughout their career. Parkey certainly deserves to shoulder some blame, but lest we forget his third-seeded team scored 15 points at home against a team that grabbed the last Wild Card spot in Week 17.
