Eddy Pineiro probably wanted to make like Southwest Airlines and get away after his poor performance on Sunday, but his coach is still confident in him.
Addressing the media Monday, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy backed the young kicker following his two missed field goals, including a potential game-winner in the final seconds, in a 17-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I know who he is as a person,” said Nagy, per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “And we’ve seen it in practice and we’ve already seen him nail a 53 game-winner in Denver.
“We have all the faith in the world in him,” Nagy went on. “We know he’s going to bounce back. Ask anybody on the team. It’s the NFL. It happens. How do you respond to it? Right?”
After hooking a 33-yard attempt off the right upright in the first quarter, the 24-year-old Pineiro missed a 41-yarder that would have given the Bears the win as time expired in the fourth. He entered play on Sunday though having made nine of his ten attempts on the season, including the game-winner against the Broncos in Week 2 that Nagy mentioned.
Nagy did find himself having to defend one of his decisions before Pineiro’s miss, but Pineiro has definitely done enough to merit his coach’s support.
