Robbie Gould will remember Sunday for the rest of his life.
The Chicago Bears kicker took a private jet to meet his team Sunday morning in Minnesota after the overnight birth of his son.
"It was one of the greatest days of my life and I'm happy for my wife and little boy (but) sorry I couldn't do it for my teammates like I did for my wife," Gould said after missing an overtime field goal, per the Chicago Tribune. "It's hard to swallow. ... If you want to put the blame somewhere, it falls right on me."
Gould has been one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, but he pushed a 47-yard field goal that would have kept the Bears on pace for a playoff spot.
The Minnesota Vikings kicked the game-winning field goal on the next possession.
After the 23-20 loss, both local newspapers, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, skewered coach Marc Trestman for kicking the field goal on second-and-7 instead of trying to gain more yards.
Trestman defended the decision, saying he didn't want to lose yards or commit a penalty that would push his team out of field goal range.
Why wouldn't he hand off the ball to Matt Forte at least one more time? It's a legitimate question to pose. Forte averaged 5.2 yards per carry Sunday.
But let's not twist this as if just one play cost Chicago. Trestman's team had a 10-point lead against a Vikings team ready to fold. Then the Bears allowed Adrian Peterson to run over them and backup quarterback Matt Cassel to dice up their defense.
The Bears' offense couldn't sustain a second-half drive to save their season against one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
Save for the play of Alshon Jeffery, this was a team loss for the Bears.
Yes, Trestman should have tried to gain a couple of extra yards, but it was the fortune of poor Vikings plays that even gave Gould the chance to miss.
The truth is the Bears are on the outside looking in on the playoff hunt because the team on field isn't good enough.
*The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 13 game. *
