Shortly after landing back in Chicago following his game-winning field goal that clinched a 16-14 decision over the Broncos Sunday, Eddy Pineiro was told the bad news.

“They cut me,” said Pineiro. “They told me I didn’t make an impact last season so I couldn’t stick around this year.”

Bears GM Ryan Pace said letting Pineiro go wasn’t a difficult decision.

“Watching Eddy have a perfect day and hit a 53-yarder to win the game made me so angry,” said Pace. “Where was he last year? Why couldn’t we have that kind of reliability from the kicking position then? We have no room for guys who couldn’t produce when we needed them most.”

Asked if that logic applied to other positions, like quarterback, Pace wasn’t quite as firm.

“Our quarterback hasn’t missed any field goals so I’m still happy I traded up for him when a future MVP was available,” said Pace. “Next question.”

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