Bernstein: Bears Kick Another One Away
By Dan Bernstein
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) It can't work like this, not for a team coached by John Fox, who manages close games to give the Bears a chance, particularly with this season's often-overmatched roster.
That means the kicking game matters more, whether Robbie Gould likes it or not.
Gould couldn't miss the 36-yard game-winner last week, but he did. It was set up by a team hanging around enough to bust a kickoff return that should have been the difference, but Gould pulled the kick left despite ideal conditions. An overtime loss followed then.
On Sunday, it was a 50-yard opportunity for Gould to tie it late, set up similarly by an unlikely big play – this time a sideline bomb from Jay Cutler to Alshon Jeffery for 50 yards, taking advantage of a blown coverage. The snap was accurate, the hold perfect and Gould's plant-foot solid in the wet grass, but he pushed it to the right, and that was that. Washington held on to defeat Chicago, 24-21.
Another comeback wasted, an opportunity lost. Just as it seemed the Bears (5-8) had flipped the script with two third-quarter scores, Gould wrote another bad ending with his sixth miss of the season.
He was bursting with confidence earlier this year, comparing himself to a legend after nailing a 49-yarder to beat the Raiders in October.
"Michael Jordan never said he didn't want the end of the game, let's be honest," Gould said. "And when he passed, he probably didn't like passing. When you get in situations like that, that's your opportunity as a kicker to earn respect in the locker room."
This is Jordan on the Wizards, then. Or a crying Jordan meme, photoshopped onto something making the rounds on Twitter. It's not good -- and not heading in a good direction.
Blame is never all on the failings of a kicker, make no mistake. The Bears lost primarily because their inside linebackers couldn't cover the middle of the field and failed to make an impact against the run. Kyle Long was a turnstile in pass protection, too, and the secondary apparently didn't know the game started until after halftime.
Washington was bad enough that it tried twice to give the ball away on the same play in the fourth quarter, with Kirk Cousins throwing an across-the-body jump ball that was batted to Matt Jones, who thought he was still in college when he flipped the live ball away while sitting on the ground untouched. It bounced back to him, however.
Some fine work by a brilliant Jay Cutler was undone by all of it, as he was 19-of-31 passing for 315 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for an efficiency rating of 117 in unfavorable conditions.
The larger question isn't about this season and whatever miniscule postseason chances were pulverized by the outcome. What matters is the level of commitment Fox and general manager Ryan Pace will have toward Gould now as they look to more important days ahead.
Gould's signed through 2017 with $8.2 million in total cap hit remaining on the deal, and he's currently projected to be the NFL's highest-paid kicker in 2016. If nothing else, Pace is already doing some math, deciding if it's worth it to pay Gould more than wide receiver Kevin White.
This regime doesn't waste time when it wants to make moves, and these guys aren't sentimentalists. In an ideal world, the placekicker is an afterthought for an explosive offense that takes care of games by itself, but that's not how Fox coaches.
Even when the Bears improve, the conservative Fox will undoubtedly still have them playing many more tightly contested games, decided by critical field goals. He must now be deciding whom he wants to trust to make them.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.