Chicago Bears new kicker Eddy Pineiro was named Snickers’ “Hungriest Player of the Week” after his week 2 performance against the Denver Broncos which included kicking a 53-yard game-winning field goal. Pineiro was the Bears’ hero during Sunday’s game; a far cry from the infamous “double doink” from the Bears previous kicker Cody Parkey.
Pineiro humbly accepted this award, posting a video on his Twitter page stating the entire Chicago Bears team is the “hungriest”:
In addition, Pineiro was also named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for making all three field goals, including the 53 yard winner. Pineiro currently leads the Bears in scoring, kicking 100% going into week 3.
Pineiro’s journey in becoming a kicker began with his young aspirations to follow in his father’s professional soccer footsteps. His father noticed his kick was something spectacular, and recommend he try out for special teams in college. Pineiro told his father he would only accept his father’s recommendation if he got into the best school.
Shortly thereafter he accepted a kicker position at the University of Florida, and the rest is history. During college, Pineiro had the best field goal percentage in the nation, 94.4%, finishing his career with an 88.4% conversion rate.
The spotlight was placed on Pineiro during the offseason. After Chicago’s 2018 season ended as a direct result of a missed field goal the Bears were on the hunt for a legitimate special teams kicker. Pineiro won the starting job over former AAF kicker Elliott Fry. Fry was released by the Bears on August 18th, 2019.
It’s safe to say after this week’s performance the Bears have officially found a kicker they can be confident in.
