Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey (1) reacts after missing what could have been a game-winning field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles during the final seconds of the game allowing the Eagels to beat the Bears 16-15 in their NFC Wild Card playoff game on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago. Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/UPI |
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Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Eagles fans were blowing up the Venmo cash app to give kicker Cody Parkey money after he missed a game-winning field goal for the Chicago Bears.
The Bears had a chance to go up 18-16 with 10 seconds remaining when Parkey stepped on the field for a 43-yard field goal attempt. He launched his first try, successfully splitting the uprights, but the Eagles called a timeout, negating the game-winning kick.
Parkey then stepped up for his final attempt. He smacked the football with his right foot, sending it toward the field goal, but the ball hit the left upright and bounced onto the crossbar, before falling forward, resulting in a loss.
It first appeared Parkey had missed the kick, but upon further review, Eagles defensive tackle Treyvon Hester got a piece of the football as it was going over the defensive line. The Eagles ended up with a 16-15 victory in the NFC Wild Card playoff game on Sunday at Solider Field in Chicago.
Bears fans booed Parkey as he exited the tunnel at Solider Field and other fans took out their frustration on Parkey via social media.
Dozens of Eagles fans decided to pick up their phones and send Parkey cash on Venmo.
"Good game, brother! Keep your head up," one Eagles fan wrote, including an eagle emoji.
"Thanks man. Fly Eagles fly," another fan wrote.
"Fly Eagles fly," another fan wrote. "Once an Eagle, always an Eagle."
Parkey, 26, played for the Eagles for two seasons at the start of his career. He made the Pro Bowl while playing for the team in 2014. The Auburn product made 3-of-4 field goal attempts on Sunday and hit 76.7 percent of his attempts on the season. Parkey made a career-best 91.3 percent of his field goals in 2017 as a member of the Miami Dolphins.
The Bears kicker sat in his locker an answered questions about the missed kick following the loss.
"It's one of the worst feelings in the world to let your team down," Parkey told reporters. "So I fell terrible. Continue to put things in perspective. Continue to put my best foot forward and sleep at night knowing that I did everything in my power to go and make that kick. For whatever reason it 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 in March.