Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Tough kicker: Eddy Piñeiro was limping noticeably due to a knee injury he sustained in the weight room Saturday. But the Bears kicker fought through the pain, making 1-of-2 field-goal attempts and 4-of-4 extra points.
“It was going back and forth the last couple days,” said coach Matt Nagy. “We didn’t really know. He did well warming up. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do. I had a plan either way. Tabes (special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor) came in and said that [Piñeiro] was kicking the ball pretty well and so he felt good.”
After missing a 44-yard attempt wide right early in the third quarter, Piñeiro drilled a 38-yarder that gave the Bears a 31-15 lead with 1:50 remaining in the game.
“It would have been great to hit that longer field goal,” Nagy said. “But I give him credit for fighting through that and fighting through the pain. He did his job and hit that big field goal at the end.”
Pat O'Donnell handled the kickoff duties in place of Piñeiro, recording three touchbacks on six kickoffs.
Late change: Right tackle Bobby Massie was a surprise inactive due to what Nagy described as a “small case of vertigo.”
“When we got here [to the stadium] and came in he said he wasn’t feeling good,” Nagy said. “So it was, ‘OK, I guess we’ve got to figure something out.’
Massie was replaced by Cornelius Lucas, who has now appeared in 40 games with nine starts in six NFL seasons with the Lions, Raiders, Saints and Bears.
“I want to give credit to Cornelius Lucas for stepping up today on short notice,” Nagy said.
Before Monday night, Massie had started 48 of 50 games since joining the Bears in 2016.
Injury update: Receiver Taylor Gabriel exited Monday night’s game with a concussion after catching six passes for 75 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks also left with a right knee injury that did not appear to be serious.
“I don’t have anything for sure, but I feel he’ll be OK,” Nagy said. “I don’t have anything more than that right now.”
Playing takeaway: The five takeaways the Bears generated Monday night were their most in a game since they also had five Sept. 22, 2013 in a win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
“They come in bunches when they do come,” said linebacker Danny Trevathan, who forced a key fumble that Jackson recovered in the fourth quarter.
Moving the chains: After converting 6-of-26 third-down opportunities (23 percent) in their first two games, the Bears were successful on 8-of-13 (62 percent) Monday night.
“Give credit to our coaches who put a lot of time and energy into trying to scheme plays in that area,” Nagy said. “And then the players executing.”