The Bears have their kicker.
Eddy Pineiro hit a 54-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in Denver today, helping Chicago win 16-14 -- and helping to exorcise the demons of last season’s heartbreaking playoff loss.
Pineiro’s kick came after Joe Flacco appeared to lead the Broncos to a dramatic comeback win. With just 31 seconds to play and the Bears beating the Broncos 13-6, Flacco threw a touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders that could have sent the game into overtime -- if the Broncos had kicked the extra point. But it got crazy.
The Broncos lined up for a two-point conversion, but they were flagged for delay of game. Not wanting to try the conversion from the 7-yard line, they opted to kick the extra point -- which missed. Except that the Bears jumped offside, and when the Broncos accepted that penalty, they chose to go for two again. This time it was from the 1-yard line because of the Chicago penalty, and Denver converted to take a 14-13 lead.
That wasn’t the end, though. Mitchell Trubisky, who had been struggling all game, managed to get the Bears into field goal range, with the help of a highly questionable roughing the passer call. After Trubisky’s last pass the clock briefly showed 0:00, but the officials ruled that the Bears had called timeout with one second left. With that second, Pineiro worked his magic.
The Bears need more than field goals, and Trubisky’s struggles are a real issue. But for now, Chicago is celebrating an improvement to 1-1, and Denver is stuck at 0-2.