What kicking problems? Bears K Eddy Pineiro named NFC special teams player of week
It won’t make everyone forget about the double doink in the playoffs, but for a while we have a reprieve on worrying about the Chicago Bears kicking situation.
One of the ongoing stories of the offseason was what the Bears would do at kicker. They cut Cody Parkey after he missed in the final seconds of a playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and then got everyone mad by going on the “Today” show. The search for a replacement seemed to last forever and the Bears were far from settled at the position going into the season.
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But two games in, Eddy Pineiro was named NFC special teams player of the week.
Eddy Pineiro was a hero vs. Broncos
After hitting a game-winning field goal at Denver on the final play of the game, Pineiro won the weekly award.
EDDY! EDDY!
Congrats to the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/ks6JuwmLth— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 18, 2019
Pineiro could miss a big field goal and everyone will freak out later this season, but it’s a fun story at the moment given how much angst there was over the Bears kicking situation.
Pineiro has hit all four of his field goal attempts and his lone extra point.
Bears got Pineiro in a trade
Pineiro’s kick on Sunday should give him some breathing room.
At the end of a wild finish in Denver, Pineiro drilled a 53-yard field goal as time expired for a 16-14 win. That set off a huge celebration.
The Bears sent a conditional 2021 seventh-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Pineiro, who had shown a lot of leg strength but had never kicked in an NFL game.
It’s looking like a great deal now.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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