The Chicago Bears have dedicated their offseason to finding a kicker to replace Cody Parkey who famously doinked a ball off the uprights in the final seconds of a playoff game. Head coach Matt Nagy has gone to unconventional lengths to try and drum up intensity and pressure in practices to test the kicking candidates mettle.
And in the first preseason game of 2019, Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera decided to help Nagy and the Bears out by icing the kicker.
"I did that to help the Bears, because they're in a kicking contest," Rivera told reporters after the game.
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Elliott Fry and Eddy Pineiro are the two kickers vying for the job and it was Fry lining up to take the kick from 43-yards, the same distance that Parkey attempted in that ill-fated playoff game, when the timeout was called.
Fortunately, Fry made the kick and the fans erupted in cheers, a theme that carried on throughout the night with the spotlight on the kickers.
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