Bears kicker Cody Parkey spent the last week in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Parkey hit the upright with missed kicks four times in Week 10, which led to extra work at Soldier Field that was chronicled by helicopters in the days leading up to Sunday night’s game against the Vikings. That work appeared to pay off as Parkey made all three of his field goal tries in Chicago’s 25-20 win.
“Rewarding,” Parkey said, via the Chicago Tribune. “Honestly, I try to stay very even-keeled, good or bad. The more I play, the more big kicks I’m going to hit. We try to minimize all the bad stuff that happens. This team did an amazing job today helping me out.”
Parkey’s final field goal put the Bears up 11 points with less than three minutes to play and he was mobbed by teammates celebrating the kick after it went through the uprights. Parkey said that’s what makes the Bears “very special” and their spot at the top of the NFC North suggests there may be more special moments in the team’s future.