After a long, arduous and downright frustrating-at-times kicker competition, the Chicago Bears appear to have finally found their kicker in Eddy Pineiro.
With the game on the line with one second remaining, Pineiro did what the kicker-who-must-not-be-named before him could not do — he came up clutch.
Pineiro connected on a 53-yard field goal to give the Bears a 16-14 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
While Pineiro’s kick was ultimately the game-winner, it felt like more than that. It felt like the demons of Bears’ kickers past being exorcised.
“This was an emotional kick,” Pineiro said. “From all the stuff that I’ve been through and the whole kicking situation, the ‘Augusta Silence.’ Do we have a kicker? Do we not have a kicker? And the media and everybody just piling in. It was an amazing moment.”
While Pineiro has treated every kick like just another kick, Sunday’s field goal was so much more. Pineiro saved the Bears from an 0-2 start on the season and all of the criticism that would’ve come with it.
“I’ve been practicing my whole life for this,” Pineiro said. “All the stuff that I’ve been through. I was praying, ‘God, give me this shot. Give me this shot to win the game.’”
Pineiro was perfect on the day, connecting on all three field goals and the lone extra point he attempted. He connected on field goals of 40, 52 and 53 yards, which served to build confidence moving forward.
“Games like this just absolutely multiply your confidence to another level,” Matt Nagy said. “You can’t make that up.”
After a nine-man kicker competition that spanned several months, do the Bears have their kicker in Pineiro?
“I think they do, yeah,” Pineiro said.
