Eagles' Treyvon Hester tipped Cody Parkey's missed field goal, video shows

It wasn't all because of the post and the crossbar that Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey missed that crucial fourth quarter field goal.

As it turns out, Philadelphia Eagles fans can thank Treyvon Hester.

The defensive tackle's fingers tipped the ball after Parkey kicked it to give the Eagles the 16-15 win in Sunday night's NFC Wild Card playoff.

RELATED: Gritty trolls Parkey as 'Double Doink' takes over Philly

Hester himself told The Athletic that he got his hand on the ball.

"You can't make this up," Parkey said.

Hester's role wasn't noticed at first, but his teammates made sure to give him credit.

In response to a video posted by ESPN of Parkey getting booed as he left the field, Eagles defensive end Chris Long tweeted, "Kick was tipped."

Eagles kicker Jake Elliott stood up for Parkey as well, adding the ball was deflected, too.

"This is a stand up guy that a lot of young players can look up to. This is how you handle adversity like a pro. Cody is a heck of a kicker and will be for a long time. No reason to be taking the heat he is especially when that ball was tipped," Elliott tweeted.

Brandon Brooks, Malcolm Jenkins, and Haloti Ngata were among other players who tweeted about Hester's involvement in the big miss.

And after some sly, sleuthing Birds fans and sports reporters analyzed the video over and over again, Hester got his just due.

By Monday afternoon, the NFL had officially changed the field goal attempt from "missed" to "blocked."

After making three field goals earlier in the game, Parkey sent one right between the uprights with a few feet to spare. But the Eagles called time to ice him so it didn't count.

Parkey then thought he booted a "great ball" on the next attempt.

The kick hit halfway up the upright and ricocheted off the crossbar, bringing the Bears' breakthrough season to an end.

"There's really no answer to it," Parkey said. "I thought I hit a good ball. Unfortunately, I didn't make it. I feel terrible, 100 percent take that loss on me. It is what it is. Sun is going to shine tomorrow. Life is going to go on. Unfortunately, it's going to sting for a while."

-----

The Associated Press and ESPN contributed to this report.

------

Send a News Tip to Action News

Learn More About 6abc Apps