Eddy Pineiro drills 58-yard field goal amid kicking uncertainty in Chicago

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
Updated

The Chicago Bears have just one kicker left on their roster after last year’s infamous double-doink sent them into chaos.

After Saturday night, however, it appears he may just be the man for the job.

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Eddy Pineiro, who the Bears acquired from the Oakland Raiders this offseason, expertly drilled a 58-yard field goal midway through the third quarter on Saturday night in their preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“It was awesome,” Pineiro said, via the Chicago Tribune. “I wanted that 58-yarder. I got it. That felt pretty good. I haven’t celebrated like that since college.”

The team has been searching for a new kicker since Cody Parkey’s 43-yard miss in the final seconds of the Bears’ wild-card game against the Philadelphia Eagles last season. At one point, they even lined up eight kickers in front of the whole organization and made them all kick a 43-yarder in practice.

The team has since cut down it’s collection of kickers, and waived Elliott Fry last week, leaving Pineiro all by himself in Chicago.

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“With the whole kicking struggle from last year, they’ve got us on thin ice here,” Pineiro said, via the Chicago Tribune.

Pineiro is in just his second season in the league, too, and has yet to officially kick in an NFL game. The former Florida kicker went 38-of-43 during his collegiate career, and missed just two extra points.

Though Saturday’s performance was impressive, Bears coach Matt Nagy knows it’s still up in the air.

“He's never kicked in an NFL game before,” Nagy said, via the Chicago Tribune. “So that could go a couple different ways. It could go really good, it could go really bad. We don't know that answer.”

Chicago Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro, right, is congratulated after kicking a 58-yard field goal during the second half of their preseason game against the Colts on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Chicago Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro, right, is congratulated after kicking a 58-yard field goal during the second half of their preseason game against the Colts on Saturday in Indianapolis. (AP/Michael Conroy)

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