Chicago Bears: Previous missed-kick victims often rebound big

The Chicago Bears had a nearly flawless offseason in 2018. Their one mistake, ironically enough, ended up being the signing of kicker Cody Parkey.

His miss in the NFC wild card loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was his 11th overall of the season, cementing it as one of the worst overall performances by a Bears kicker in years. If that weren’t bad enough, he made things worse for himself by going on The Today Show to talk about it just days after it happened. Not only did that anger his head coach and GM, but likely several in the locker room too. Players who had his back after the game.

What people want to know now is where the Bears go from here. Can they recover from a loss like this and get back to the playoffs? The short answer is yes. History is filled with plenty of instances where teams suffered brutally at the foot of a kicker missing what should’ve been a fairly routine kick. Not only did they rebound the next year, but quite a few even managed to top their achievements from the previous season.

Here are some examples.

Billy Cundiff can’t beat the clock (2011)

The Ravens were in the AFC championship battling with the Patriots. They’d already watched wide receiver Lee Evans drop a touchdown that would’ve given them the win. Yet they still had a chance to tie it 23-23 on a chip shot 32-yard field goal. Instead kicker Billy Cundiff hooked it badly to the left, sending New England back to the Super Bowl. After the game, it was determined that Cundiff being late getting onto the field, rushing the kick and that the holder didn’t turn the ball so the laces were out, likely resulted in the botch.

Baltimore was devastated by the loss, but they refused to be deterred. They replaced Cundiff in the offseason and fought their way back to the AFC championship where this time they blew the Patriots out of the building. They went on to win the Super Bowl two weeks later.

Indianapolis Colts: Mike Vanderjagt missed it (2005)

Once upon a time, he was considered the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Mike Vanderjagt was an All-Pro by 2005. He’d gone a perfect 37-of-37 two years prior and was almost as good that year at 23-of-25 on field goals. Most considered him automatic, but beneath the surface there was a problem. Vanderjagt tended to fold under pressure.

He missed a game-tying kick against the Patriots a year before that ended up costing them homefield advantage. The year before a questionable penalty bailed him out from ruining one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history against the defending champion Buccaneers. This time, there was no saving him. Needing a field goal to tie the game and force overtime in the divisional round against Pittsburgh, his kick never had a chance, veering way wide right.

It was the most crushing defeat of the Peyton Manning era and cost Vanderjagt his job. The Colts replaced him with Adam Vinatieri from the Patriots who played a pivotal role in them coming back the next year in 2006 and winning the Super Bowl.

Gary Anderson‘s first miss in over a year (1998)

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On December 15th, 1997 Gary Anderson missed a field goal with the 49ers in a win over Denver. Nobody thought much of it at the time. They couldn’t have guessed that would be his last missed kick for over a full calendar year. From then on he would make his next 187 kicks going into and during the NFC championship game as a member of the Vikings.

It was at that moment he was sent onto the field for one more. Minnesota was up 27-20 with time winding down. A field goal would’ve made it a 10-point lead and likely sent them to the Super Bowl. It was inside a dome with no wind and just 38 yards out. This was automatic for Anderson. Or so it seemed. The kick hooked to left.

Before the Vikings could fully contemplate what happened, the Falcons drove down the field to tie the game and won in overtime. It was arguably the most brutal loss in franchise history. Amazingly they were able to recover from it. A year later they went 10-6, made the playoffs, and even beat Dallas in the wild card round before falling to the eventual champion St. Louis Rams.

Scott Norwood goes wide right (1990)

The most famous missed kick in NFL history. Everybody knows the story by now. The Buffalo Bills are down 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV. They drive down the field and with eight seconds left give their kicker Scott Norwood a chance at a 47-yard field goal to win the game. Some weren’t impressed by it. They felt another play could’ve been run to try getting a bit closer, knowing that Norwood tended to struggle on grass fields from long distances.

It didn’t happen. That was the kick they attempt. Norwood managed to get plenty of leg on it. Unfortunately, the ball never curved left as he no doubt intended. It started right and stayed right for the miss. The game was over and the New York Giants were Super Bowl champions. Norwood thus passed into NFL lore for all the wrong reasons.

Buffalo didn’t let it stop them though. A year later they actually had a better record than the previous season (14-2) and cruised their way back to the Super Bowl again. So it’s further proof that the Parkey miss, bad as it was, should not derail them on their path towards competing for a championship in the near future. Provided of course they do what the first two teams did and actually replaced the kicker.

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