Cody Parkey named NFC Special Teams player of the week

What a difference a week makes in the life of an NFL kicker.

A Sunday removed from doinking four kicks off the uprights, Cody Parkey goes three for three on field goals for the Chicago Bears to help them to a 25-20 win against the Minnesota Vikings. His sort of perfect day — one of his kickoffs went out of bounds — earned him the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.

On the season, Parkey is now 16 for 21 on FGs (76.2%) and 30 for 32 on extra points. Before this year, Parkey was hitting 86.4% of his field goals, so he’s likely to see his season percentage go up.

As a place kicker, Parkey is reliant on long snapper Patrick Scales and holder Patrick O’Donnell to do his job effectively, so this is an award that means something to the specialist trifecta. Last week the three Bears traveled to Soldier Field to get some practice in their home stadium, and I have to think that helped Parkey Sunday night.

The Bears all rallied around their kicker after the bad game against the Lions a couple weeks ago, and they chanted his name in the locker room after the victory Sunday night, Also, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor was about as excited as a man can be after seeing a first quarter kick made against the Vikings.

I could get used to Bears winning award each week...