Dear Cody Parkey,

You deserved the intense amount of negative energy that was directed towards you at Soldier Field following a 43 yard field goal miss that would have sent the Bears to the divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams. Even if the ball was tipped by Eagle’s defensive tackle Treyvon Hester, you still have to put the ball in a place that can find its way through the uprights. Your contract guarantees you $9,000,000, and you were already paid $3,500,000 this year to make kicks, yet you managed to miss eleven field goals and extra points this season, including the most important kick of the year against the Eagles. Six of those eleven misses struck the uprights along with last night’s game- deciding kick.

Being guaranteed a great deal of money comes with the expectation that you will have no issues in late-game situations and the confidence in yourself that you can get the job done. You did not do your job, and you failed the people of Chicago and your teammates.

With that being said, the people of Chicago cannot completely blame you for the loss. The Bears offense was practically non-existent until early in the 4th quarter when they finally mustered together a touchdown drive behind great play from quarterback Mitch Trubisky and wide-receiver Allen Robinson. Also, I believe the Bears completely under-utilized running-back Jordan Howard who could have been given the ball on the crucial two-point conversion following the Allen Robinson touchdown catch.

As easy as it is for the people of Chicago to direct hate towards you, we have to remember that you’re a human being like the rest of us. Threats directed towards you are completely undeserved, and as a city and a fan base, we have to be better than that. The way you handled yourself after the game was also very impressive. “I thought I hit a good ball and unfortunately I didn’t make it. I feel terrible. I 100 percent take that loss on me. It is what it is. But sun’s gonna shine tomorrow, life’s gonna go on and unfortunately it’s going to sting for a while.” You said this to reporter which I think the fans of Chicago can appreciate immensely. With the pressure of the world on you, you failed us, but your character after the miss proved to me and the sensible fans of the Bears that you do not deserve to be attacked and threatened.