MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For a moment, everything that preceded kicker Cody Parkey’s 53-yard field-goal attempt in overtime didn’t matter.
The Bears had a chance to escape southern Florida with a wild victory after Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake fumbled on the goal line.
“I had the distance,” Parkey said. “I just didn’t kick it straight enough, bottom line.”
It was a wide-right miss that epitomized a disastrous day for the Bears. Parkey couldn’t beat his former team. Instead, he watched rookie kicker Jason Sanders make a 47-yarder as time expired in overtime to beat the Bears 31-28 on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It was great,” Sanders said. “Once I touched it, you got that feeling that it’s going in before you even look up. I struck it really well.”
Parkey didn’t have the same feeling. It didn’t help that coach Matt Nagy ran the ball three consecutive times for only six yards after the Bears reached the Dolphins’ 39-yard line, thanks to 19- and 15-yard runs by Jordan Howard.
But Parkey was signed to a four-year, $15 million contract, which included $9 million guaranteed, in the offseason to make such kicks. He is supposed to be the Bears’ answer to the curse of Robbie Gould.
“You’ve got to move on,” Parkey said. “I’ve made game-winners; I’ve missed game-winners. As long as I keep playing, I’m just going to keep trying to kick my best.”
It was Parkey’s second miss this season. He missed a 46-yard attempt in the first quarter of the Bears’ 16-14 win against the Cardinals in Week 3. It was only his second miss in nine attempts from 50-plus yards in his career.
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“At the end of the day, I control what I can control, and unfortunately I missed a field goal,” Parkey said. “I’d like to have that one back, but it is what it is, and I’m just going to focus on the next game. That’s all I can do.”
Of course, it was a different feeling for Sanders, who made all three of his field goals against the Bears.
“It’s a good feeling, obviously,” Sanders said. “It’s just confidence. You want to go out there and take every kick like it’s your first kick. I had two kicks before that and you could look at that saying I got a feel for what it’s like to be out there.”
