There isn’t much defense for a 38-yard field goal try with three seconds left in a game. And while the Houston Texans may have tried everything in (and out) of the book, Eddy Piñeiro persisted.
The Carolina Panthers kicker spoke with reporters following the team’s 15-13 win, a triumph clinched by his walk-off 23-yard field goal. But wait, how did we go from 38 yards out to just 23? Well . . .
On Piñeiro’s first attempt at it, Texans defensive back Tavierre Thomas made a ridiculously early jump off the edge and proceeded to bowl over punter and placeholder Johnny Hekker. The Panthers, of course, elected for the penalty of the 10-yard variety—taking the unnecessary roughness call to Houston’s 10-yard line.
Then, Thomas jumped again on the next look. A second head start resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct call and another five yards for Carolina and Piñeiro.
But, even though the mind games and the additional trash talk that apparently came with it, Eddy stayed steady and put the chip shot through.
“The guys were like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna miss it,” he said of the Houston defenders. “They’re just tryin’ to get in your head. I just stayed focused, followed my technique and just did my normal prayer that I usually do before I kick. And that’s it.”
Piñeiro also overcame a missed extra point attempt earlier in the outing, one that prevented the Panthers from knotting the game at seven apiece in the second quarter. Nonetheless, he finished by banging through all three of his 3-point tries and even sent off the opposition with a warm goodbye.
“They didn’t wanna lose that game,” he also told reporters. “They were trying their absolute best to, I guess, get in my head—but it didn’t work out for them. So, hopefully they have a safe flight back to Houston.”
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