The Chicago Bears season is now officially over after their 16-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the 2018 NFL Playoffs.  The Bears had a great season, finishing with their best record (12-4) since they went to the Super Bowl in 2006 (13-3) and an NFC North division title for the first time since 2010 but what everyone will remember the season by was the second to last play.  The play that ended the Bears 2018 season and should officially end Cody Parkey’s career with the Bears.

Parkey lined up for a 43-yard field goal attempt and Bears fans around the world were terrified.  This is exactly the scenario everyone wanted to avoid, the fate of the Bears relied on Parkey’s right foot.  Eagles head coach, Doug Pederson took a timeout to ice the kicker and Parkey went ahead and kicked the ball anyway sending it through the uprights.  Most of Chicago let out a sigh of relief. At least he CAN make the kick!

However, Parkey’s second attempt at the kick didn’t end as well as his first.  The ball hit the upright, fell onto the crossbar and then on to the endzone grass at Soldier Field.  Chicago fell silent and Soldier Field broke into a chorus of boos. At the time, it was another missed kick by Parkey and this one ended the Bears promising season prematurely.  The NFL has since changed the official stat from a missed field goal to a blocked kick by Eagles defensive tackle Treyvon Hester. While this does take some of the blame away from Parkey it does not fully exonerate him in the eyes of this Bears fan.

Part of a kickers job is to be able to kick the ball above the outstretched hands of the defenders who are trying to block your kick.  At 43 yards, Parkey should have been able to put some air under the ball but his limited range may have forced him to drive the kick making it more susceptible to blocks.  We all know Parkey doesn’t have great range but I was surprised to see just how bad it actually was during the 2018 season. According to NFL.com, Parkey was 6-6 (100%) on kicks between 20 and 29 yards but his percentage makes an immediate drop from there.  30-39 yards should still be almost automatic for an NFL kicker but Parkey was only 7-10 (70%) from that range and that’s not even including the three PATs (which are 35-yard attempts) he missed.  His percentage gets a little bit better from 40-49 yards where he went 9-12 (75%) and drops again on a small sample size from beyond 50 yards, 1-2 (50%).

Yes, Parkey did score nine points for the Bears against the Eagles but they were on kicks from 36, 29 and 34 which are not hard kicks if you are an NFL kicker.  This Bears team has a tough schedule ahead of them in the 2019 season and it will need every point they can get. Next year they might not win if their kicker hits the upright four times in one game, keeping eight points off the board.  They might not convert on 2-point conversion attempts that they are forced into because the kicker can’t be trusted to make a 35-yard PAT. Not being able to count on a 30-39 yard kick could cost a game against teams like the Saints, Rams and Chiefs.  Everyone was fearful as soon as the game came down to Parkey’s right foot and that can’t be the case next year. The Bears have a talented roster and a great coaching staff, it’s time for Ryan Pace to do what he hasn’t been able to and figure out the kicker position.  77 FG% and 10 regular season combined FG/PAT misses simply isn’t going to cut it.

I hope Cody Parkey finds himself a job next year, it just can’t be on the Bears.