Cleveland Browns fans were warned. Chicago Bears fans cautioned them for months that sooner or later the Cody Parkey experience was going to ruin the fun. That is what the kicker has made his reputation on. Browns fans didn't listen. They proclaimed the kicker was a changed man. Coming to Cleveland cured his ails and would be their guy for years moving forward.
After all, he'd only missed threw total kicks in 11 games since taking over in Week 2. The guy was as close to automatic as it gets. He was locked in. There was no way he was going to cost them a big game down the stretch. Except Bears fans knew better. They'd been well-conditioned to never trust anything Parkey shows. Not until he's put in a proper pressure situation.
The Double Doink remains too burned in their memories to ever fade.
Sure enough, all those warnings proved correct. Cleveland went into Monday Night Football in Week 14 with a gigantic opportunity. Pittsburgh had just lost two games in a row. Suddenly the AFC North, which had looked out of reach all year, was within their grasp. All the Browns had to do was knock off the Baltimore Ravens at home. They certainly showed up, scoring 42 points on the night. Unfortunately, it was the three points they didn't get that robbed them of a season-defining win. This courtesy of a missed 39-yard field goal by Parkey.Sure enough late in the game, Baltimore pulled back ahead 45-42 on a Justin Tucker 55-yard field goal. So instead of it being tied and the game going to overtime, the Browns were left with two seconds on the clock and having to play hot potato on the ensuing kickoff trying to create a miracle. It led to a safety instead and a brutal loss. Cleveland fans? Well, they weren't happy. https://www.reddit.com/r/CHIBears/comments/kdfwm9/browns_fan_here/
