- [Narrator] It's January sixth, 2019.
Wildcard weekend at Soldier Field.
The Chicago Bears are lining up for a 43 yard field goal
that would knock out the defending champion
Philadelphia Eagles from the playoffs.
What could go wrong?
To understand what this moment represents,
what's really on the line, let's rewind.
(mysterious music)
So first off, this is a playoff game in Chicago,
and if you've been following this Bears team,
that's a bit beyond what people expected.
(videotape whirring)
Eight seasons ago, Chicago won the NFC North and they did it
in typical Bears fashion, a stupidly strong defense
paired with an offense that made you say,
boy, is that defense good.
Just an average offense might have gotten them
to the Super Bowl, but you know, Jay Cutler,
so instead, Chicago worked their way into a descent
and settled in at the bottom of the division.
Those last three years came with John Fox at the helm,
who originally signed on to spark a rebuild,
but clearly focused a little too much on the basement,
and that most recent 2017 season caused extra concern
because it saw the debut of their hopefully
franchise quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky.
Trubisky's play left a few questions unanswered.
Had Chicago overpaid to move up one spot to draft him?
Would they have been better off to go
with another first round quarterback?
Chicago's GM Ryan Pace wanted Trubisky though,
so much so that he asked the 49ers to tell him
if other teams called to trade up.
When given the affirmative, Pace pulled the trigger himself.
Committing like that, Pace tied his success to Trubisky's.
So to try and boost both their chances, out went Fox
and in came Matt Nagy.
Nagy rose up through Andy Reid's coaching staff.
He helped turn Alex Smith into an actual downfield passer
and pulled the Chiefs offense out of a rut when given
the play-calling duties to end 2017.
In hopes of replicating Nagy's magic in Chicago,
the Bears office added a trio
of pass catchers that offseason.
Allen Robinson especially offered upside
as a former Pro Bowler.
The wideout represented a pretty necessary
risk-reward signing to help boost Trubisky's play,
but new coach, new offense, same expectations
from outsiders who still saw a team rebuilding,
and then Pace traded for Khalil Mack.
Recent Defensive Player of the Year,
a mountain of sacks and pressures.
The young pass rusher most likely to literally
swallow a quarterback became a Bear.
Yes, it required some hefty compensation, but the Bears
themselves believed their turnaround was well underway.
Mack joined Chicago just one week before the season began,
but holy shit, what a fit.
A sack, forced fumble, recovery, a pick six
all in his first half of being a Bear.
Yes, Chicago blew a 20-0 second half lead and lost by one,
but of those two storylines, the Khalil Mack ride
was the one that kept going.
Chicago's defense swarmed around Mack.
Eddie Jackson, Kyle Fuller, and Akeem Hicks
all became first-time Pro Bowlers.
While the defense led the league in most major categories,
the offense, especially in recent Bears terms,
genuinely made some big strides.
Expected to finish last,
Chicago didn't just win the division.
They torched the North.
They lost just once after week seven and held three
of their final four opponents to 10 points or less.
Historically, that's the Bears blueprint for success
and how you get folks to believe in this team.
(videotape whirring)
Up until just a minute ago, they held this opponent
to 10 points too, but these Eagles just always find a way.
Philly actually offers hope for what Chicago could become,
thanks to a remarkably similar approach.
Turn Andy Reid's offensive coordinator into your head coach?
Check. (bell dinging)
Pair him with a quarterback drafted second overall?
Check. (bell dinging)
Have a scary good defense.
Yup, (bell dinging)
and in 2017, the Eagles took over,
in large part thanks to Carson Wentz playing himself
straight into league MVP conversations,
but an ACL tear sidelined the QB through
the tail end of 2017.
In his place, Nick Foles pulled off one of the more
unexpected finishes in recent history
leading to Philadelphia's first ever Super Bowl win,
and hopefully they enjoyed it because the first half of 2018
punched them right in the mouth.
Injuries led to more inconsistent play
during their title defense.
After being one of the strongest parts of the team,
the running game fell apart pretty early on.
The secondary, which had been maybe the Eagles'
one liability as a championship team, got even weaker,
losing three Week One starters by season midpoint,
but that injury and inconsistency spotlight
shone brightest at quarterback.
Wentz returned from his ACL injury in Week Three,
but understandably looked less than
his previous MVP-esque form.
The Eagles limped into their Week Nine bye sitting at .500.
The defending champs used that week off to send a message
that they weren't done though.
Keep in mind, that's a third round pick for possibly just
an eight game rental given Golden Tate's contract.
You don't make that move without believing this team
can recapture the magic from a year ago.
Then again, magic isn't real as the Saints
rudely reminded Philadelphia.
That's the worst loss ever suffered
by a defending Super Bowl champ.
So how did this team get better?
Well, unfortunately also through injury.
Foles stepped back up with three games to go
and seemingly no hope in Philadelphia.
So with nothing to lose, they went to L.A. and shocked
one of the NFC's best teams.
A week later, against another playoff team,
Foles threw for nearly 500 yards and four scores.
Then in the final game of the regular season,
Foles tied the NFL record for consecutive completions
while the defense shut out Washington.
Having done their part, Philadelphia also got help from,
of all teams, Chicago.
A Vikings loss put the defending champs back in the playoffs
where, as they know, anything can happen.
So really, everybody's here because of the Bears.
Now let's take a second to talk about why the Bears
have the chance to win, because frankly,
16 to 15 is just a weird fuckin' score.
Both offenses struggled most of tonight,
but things got interesting in the fourth.
Down 10-9 with 12 to play, Trubisky really showed up.
He moved Chicago's offense 80 yards in six plays,
which included chunks of 19, 34,
and 22 yards through the air.
On his final pass, even after these illegal attempts
to stop him, Robinson got so open that even
an underthrown ball gave Chicago the lead.
15-10, Bears. (cash register ringing)
Trying to make that a clean seven,
Taylor Gabriel attempted to wriggle in for two points,
but got lost somewhere in this mess.
That kept it a five point game.
Nothing but a touchdown would save Philadelphia.
So of course, Foles pulled a drive out of his ass.
He went five of seven, spread the ball around,
and set Philadelphia up with first and goal from the two.
At that point in the game, Eagles running backs had combined
for 43 yards on 20 attempts.
Not great, but math says that's over two yards per attempt.
Philly had two yards to go, so they tried it,
and they tried it again.
- [Announcer] Sproles this time, still can't.
- [Narrator] And then they remembered that Chicago's defense
allowed the fewest yards and touchdowns
on the ground that year.
So they went to the air, where the Bears
All-Pro corner Kyle Fuller said hello.
Suddenly, fourth down.
The Eagles' miraculous slog of a season
sat once again on the line.
This represented the perfect time for Golden Tate
to make that mid-season trade worth it.
After the slightest hesitation on the goal line,
he bought just enough room to snag the Eagles
another one point lead, but trying to go up
by a field goal, Philly also went for two.
A direct snap to the running back, a full extension dive
over the pile got Philly this close.
It honestly could have gone either way,
but called short on the field before the ball
started coming out, that's hard to definitively change.
Ultimately, millimeters kept this a one point game,
and thanks to all that, this 43 yard attempt can now
give Chicago the win outright.
It's time to meet the guy taking the kick, Cody Parkey.
(videotape whirring) Tonight's kind of
a revenge game for Parkey.
He made his debut in 2014 with Philadelphia,
going from undrafted free agent to NFL record holder
playing in the Pro Bowl.
Unfortunately, a groin injury early
in Year Two derailed things.
Parkey bounced from Philly to Cleveland to Miami,
but as a Dolphin started to show
the promise he had as a rookie.
That sort of performance would catch the eye of any team
desperate for competent kicking,
and the Bears, as this four year contract showed,
needed some help.
They had a good thing for 11 years with Robbie Gould,
but Chicago released him after a shaky 2016 preseason.
Replacement number one, Connor Barth, did just enough
to stick around for a second year,
but Chicago cut ties 10 games into 2017.
Barth's replacement, Cairo Santos, got hurt after two games
and his replacement, Mike Nugent,
finished the season with a whimper.
As a twist of the knife, Gould kicked in the Pro Bowl
a couple months before the Bears locked up Parkey,
but that's not Cody's problem.
Bag secured, he just needed to kick,
which he did pretty well,
at least by recent Bears standards.
Like any kicker, there were some moments
where the goalposts weren't his friend, but there's
a stretch in November that's especially noteworthy.
On November 11th, Parkey hit the uprights not once,
not twice, not even thrice.
He hit them four times in one game.
- [Announcer] Unbelievable, can you believe this?
- [Narrator] Two extra points, two field goals.
Each gave one of the posts a kiss without going in.
Parkey admitted it was almost comical and the most
extreme of outliers in his career.
With each kick, the ball just kind of drifted on him.
It didn't cost Chicago the game, but woof.
In defense of his kicker, Nagy made it clear
they were sticking with Parkey and Parkey said thanks
a week later with a performance that earned him
NFC Special Teams player of the week.
His coach recognized how special of a moment that was,
what an important performance Parkey put together,
not just for himself, but for
the whole team to rally around.
That win gave the Bears the division lead
and from there, they never took their foot off the gas,
and tonight, while the Bears have been a little
hot and cold on offense, Parkey's been perfect,
three for three to give Chicago their first nine points and
keep this game close, but after Tate's touchdown,
Parkey would be useless if the offense
couldn't get him in range.
So it started with Tarik Cohen.
This return on the ensuing kickoff not only made
Philly's special teams look foolish,
it jolted all of Chicago.
Starting the drive at the 42,
some pressure fell from Trubisky's shoulders.
He followed up a first down incompletion
with a 25 yard strike to Robinson, a perfect pass dropped
between the defenders that put the Bears in territory
for at least a 50 yard field goal attempt
if nothing changed, but that connection
lit up again on the next play.
An eight yard pickup put the ball at the 25
and after a spike, then an incompletion,
we found ourselves here.
The Chicago Bears have the chance to win the whole thing.
Parkey can be tonight's hero for Chicago and deliver
the first Bears post-season victory in eight years.
It would come against not just his old team,
but the defending champs, an Eagle squad that has
been through its own ups and downs,
and just never seems to go away.
Like Philadelphia a year ago,
Chicago now has all the tools to make a run.
Having already shattered regular season expectations,
the Bears can keep a season alive
that's surprised everyone but themselves.
43 yard field goal is all it takes.
So it's time. (heart pumping)
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Announcer] And, oh it hits the upright again.
That's impossible.
- [Analyst] Oh my goodness.
The Bears season's going to end on a double doink.
Unbelievable.
(television clicking)
- [Narrator] Thanks for watching this episode of "Rewinder,"
and special thanks to Intuit TurboTax Live,
who partnered with us on this video.
You do your thing.
They've got your taxes,
and we've got so many more videos
that you're going to enjoy.
Subscribe to "Secret Base" on YouTube,
and we'll see you soon.
(mysterious music)