Oct. 05--The euphoria remained high in the locker room Sunday afternoon, the Bears still savoring a 22-20 home win over the Raiders. The franchise's first victory in more than 10 months became reality when Robbie Gould crunched a 49-yard field goal through the south uprights with 2 seconds to play.
And with his adrenaline still pumping, Gould stood in front of his locker stall and referenced this city's most clutch icon.
"Listen," Gould said, "Michael Jordan never said he didn't want the ball at the end of the game. Let's be honest. And when he passed, he probably didn't like passing. When you get in situations like that, that's your opportunity as a kicker to earn respect in the locker room."
So with Jordanesque confidence, Gould coolly drilled the 12th game-winner of his Bears career. Before the kick, he said, he thought back to the 49-yard game-winner he nailed to finish off a 27-24 overtime playoff victory over the Seahawks in January 2007.
"You kind of bring yourself back to certain kicks," Gould said.
But the Jordan reference?
Said tight end Martellus Bennett: "He needs to make more Steve Kerr references and less Michael Jordan references. ... But it's like that moment. You want to take the last shot. That's who Mike was. And that's what this city is used to seeing."
The Bears needed 12 plays and 48 yards on their final drive to get into field-goal range. Four players, including Bennett, made catches on the final drive to set the stage.
"We did not put the ball right in his hands from the beginning," Bennett clarified with a laugh. "No iso for Steve Kerr. More like, 'You just spot over there to the left, I'm going to see if I can get something. If not, I'll hit you.' "
Still, Gould remained ready. Earlier in the fourth quarter, he had bombed a 54-yarder through with little trouble. And on the final snap before the kick, coordinator Adam Gase called a Matt Forte run to position the ball in the middle of the field.
Gould's late-game heroics helped soften the blow of a sloppy start. After the Bears' first touchdown, the kicker had his PAT attempt blocked by Raiders lineman Denico Autry.
"I probably just hit it low," Gould said.
On the ensuing kickoff, the veteran kicker knocked the ball out of bounds.
It seemed to be the continuation of an avalanche of early-season special teams woes for the Bears, compounded Sunday by two first-half penalties and a low Spencer Lanning punt that netted only 24 yards.
But Gould's experience and ability to push past mistakes put him in position to steal a win late. And on the final kick, Gould stayed dialed in mentally and true to his routine.
"My routine today was just kick it to the right upright, and I knew it would fall," he said.
When it did, an elated celebration erupted.
"Those are the type of wins that you want to see," Gould said. "And usually those type of wins catapult a team and give them a lot of confidence for the next week."
dwiederer@tribpub.com
