Cody Parkey says he went into his now-infamous kick in the Bears' final game of the season with "a lot of confidence."
After all, he was three-for-three in field goals by that point in the playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I just went down and I thought I hit a pretty good kick, it felt good off my foot," he told Today in an interview Friday. "Looking up and then I saw it hit the upright and hit the crossbar, I'm like, 'Surely it'll go in.' Unfortunately, it bounced toward me."
The NFL has changed its ruling on the 43-yard field goal attempt now known as the "double doink," changing the play to a blocked attempt. The change was made Monday via a stat correction, with officials stating the field goal was blocked by Eagles player Treyvon Hester.
Parkey has been the subject of much criticism throughout the season and even more since the team was eliminated from the playoffs.
The kick prompted a flurry of social media reaction, both supportive and negative, and Eagles fans began sending Parkey money on Venmo thanking him for missing the kick.
"Obviously I’m disappointed that I let the fans, my teammates and the whole organization down, but I’ll continue to keep my head held high because football is what I do, it’s not who I am," he said, noting that he has not been on social media since the end of the game.
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"I feel worse than anybody about missing that kick," he added.
Despite criticism for the kick, Parkey has been praised for his postgame reaction as he prayed with players on the field and addressed the media following what was undoubtedly a challenging moment.
"One of the coolest things in my opinion is just the prayer that we do cause you get done battling the other team for 60 minutes and we all join in prayer," he told Today. "We’re just praying for safety and health and that the team gets home safely on the plane and stuff."
Parkey's teammates quickly came to his defense against critics.
"A lot of teammates stood up for me from what I heard and that just shows you what kind of team we have," he said.
He also had some major athletes in his corner defending him, including former Chicago Bull Dwyane Wade and Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, who is also from suburban Chicago.
So what did he do once he left the field that day? Parkey continued his postgame tradition with his wife Colleen as the pair drove to Florida, where he is from.
"Just gave us time to reflect and realize how blessed we are for the life that we live," he said, noting that the pair didn't discuss the kick on their hours-long drive.
"The kick didn’t go in and we’re getting through that, but just watching his character and everything shine through, which obviously stands above football in my eyes, so, super proud of him," Colleen Parkey told Today.
Parkey signed a four-year contract with the Bears before the season, but his future with the team could be up in the air after the missed kick. It will be one of many questions that General Manager Ryan Pace and company will have to answer as the offseason begins.
Still, it appears Parkey's allegiance lies with his team. When asked if he's rooting for either the Saints or the Eagles this weekend, he said he is "neutral."
"I’m a Bears fan through and through regardless," he said.
