LOS ANGELES — Kicker Eddy Pineiro set the tone in the Bears’ 17-7 loss Sunday to the Rams.
Pineiro missed a 48-yard field goal at the end of the Bears’ first drive. Sufficiently spooked, coach Matt Nagy decided against trying a 49-yarder on the Bears’ second drive, and quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-nine.
When the Bears’ third possession stalled at the Rams’ 29, Nagy opted to try another field goal. Pineiro missed a 47-yarder.
Still, Nagy said after the game that the Bears wouldn’t explore other options at kicker this week.
‘‘No,’’ he said. ‘‘For us, we look at us. I think Eddy, he knows he’s gotta make those.’’
Nagy has preached confidence in Pineiro all season. He was asked if he felt that way Sunday.
‘‘Well, you want to see field goals made,’’ he said. ‘‘We all want to see that. He knows that. You’re in a game like this, and it’s a defensive battle and points are at a premium. You want to be able to make those kicks.’’
What was frustrating, Nagy said, was that the Bears had a rare chance to score on the first drive of the game. They have scored once on a first drive all season — a touchdown against the Vikings.
‘‘It might not sound great, but we were in position to kick a field goal to start the game, and we missed it,’’ he said. ‘‘And those are the ones I really wish we could have.’’
Pineiro, who was 12-for-15 before Sunday, pulled his first kick left and pushed his second one right.
‘‘It’s frustrating,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to keep grinding.”
Receiver Allen Robinson offered encouragement.
‘‘You’ve gotta keep his head up, and he’s got to keep playing,” Robinson said. ‘‘Nothing in this league is easy.’’
