When the doors opened to the Chicago Bears’ locker room on Sunday night, the first thing reporters noticed was Cody Parkey, sitting at his locker stall and ready to answer questions.
Parkey, who just minutes earlier had missed a 43-yard field goal that would have given the Bears a win over the Philadelphia Eagles, said that he thought the kick was good when he hit it, and couldn’t believe that it hit off the left upright and the crossbar.
“There’s really no answer to it,” he said. “I thought I hit a good ball.”
That ball sent the Bears from a potential victory to a painful defeat, ending their season after 12 wins and an NFC North crown.
Now, the Eagles will move on to the next round, and the Bears will head home to think about what might have been.
“It’s one of the worst feelings in the world to let your team down,” he said. “I’m gonna continue to put my best foot forward and sleep at night knowing I did everything in my power to go and make that kick, and for whatever reason I hit the crossbar and the upright, and I still couldn’t do it. I feel terrible.”
Parkey signed a four-year contract with the Bears before the season, but his future with the team could be up in the air after the missed kick. It will be one of many questions that Ryan Pace and company will have to answer as the offseason begins.
