Cody Parkey Has Become A Cause For Concern For Browns

Cleveland Browns Place Kicker Cody Parkey (3) misses on a 49-yard field goal during the fourth quarter of the National Football League game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers on January 1, 2017, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh defeated Cleveland 27-24 in overtime. — (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

Cleveland Browns kicker Cody Parkey is in a rut headed into the final week of the 2020 regular season.

Parkey, 28, has missed an extra point in each of the last three games.

In Week 16, Parkey hit the left upright on his fourth-quarter extra point attempt against the New York Jets.

The miss kept the Jets ahead by 4 points at 20-16 after Kareem Hunt’s 4-yard touchdown run.

Parkey did make a 44-yard field goal against the Jets, nearly matching his longest make this year of 46 yards.

However, imagine if the Browns’ season comes down to whether Parkey makes a game-winning kick.

On Monday, Browns first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski expressed faith in his kicker.

“As it pertains to Cody, he knows what is expected of him,” Stefanski said. “We are counting on him, and I have a ton of confidence in him.”

Cody Parkey is addicted to the doink
https://t.co/lIzzVCscPy

— PFF (@PFF) December 27, 2020

Before the end of the first half against the Jets and trailing 13-3, the Browns had punter Jamie Gillan attempt at a 61-yard field goal instead of Parkey.

Gillan’s attempt was way short.

“We got beat. I got out-coached,” Stefanski said of the Browns’ effort in the 23-16 loss to the Jets. “We have to be better, but we had the players we need to win that game and we didn’t get it done.”

In Week 17, the Browns can clinch a playoff birth with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers or if the Indianapolis Colts lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the Browns are a 7-point favorite over the Steelers, the Colts are a 14-point favorite over the Jaguars.

The Browns can also make the playoffs if the Tennessee Titans lose to the Houston Texans, the Miami Dolphins win or tie the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens win or tie the Cincinnati Bengals.

There are also five scenarios for the Browns to make the playoffs if they tie the Steelers.

All of Cleveland’s clinching scenarios: #Browns pic.twitter.com/0Wq5yJE7yP

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) December 28, 2020

The Browns might need to rely on Parkey’s kicking abilities to make the playoffs and win in the postseason if they make it.

In the Week 14 Monday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Parkey also missed a 39-yard field goal.

Headed into Week 17, Parkey is 18-of-21 (85.7%) on field goals and 40-of-44 (90.9%) on extra points this season.

In 2020, Parkey has not attempted a field goal from 50 yards or beyond.

Parkey is 120-of-142 (84.5%) on field goals in his career and 194-of-206 (94.2%) on extra points.

The NFL moved extra points back to the 15-yard line ahead of the 2015 season.

Cody Parkey’s kicking history

Parkey’s kicking woes are well documented, most notably during his infamous “Double Doink” field goal attempt as the kicker of the Chicago Bears during the NFC Wild Card game on Jan. 6, 2019, against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Trailing the Eagles 16-15 with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Parkey’s 43-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright and the lower crossbar before falling short.

Eagles coach Doug Peterson iced Parkey by calling a timeout just ahead of the initial attempt.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Treyvon Hester appeared to partially block Parkey’s attempt too.

In February 2019, the Bears announced they would cut Parkey after he made an appearance on NBC’s “Today Show” five days after the “Double Doink.”

“As a kicker, you live for those moments – I had a lot of confidence going into that kick…I’m disappointed.” @ChicagoBears kicker @CParkey36 on last Sunday night’s field goal that would’ve sent his team to the next playoff round pic.twitter.com/SEV87eKgs7

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 11, 2019

.@ChicagoBears kicker Cody Parkey describes heartbreaking missed field goal https://t.co/LrSP3japio

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 11, 2019

In 2018 for the Bears, Parkey missed a total of 10 kicks (seven field goals, three extra points) and finished with the third-worst field goal percentage in the NFL (23-of-30, 76.7%).

If the past is any indication, Parkey has seemed to have a propensity to hit the upright as if the ball was magnetic to it.

Counting the Bears-Eagles playoff game, Parkey hit the upright and missed a kick six times during the 2018 season.

In a 34-22 win over the Detroit Lions on Nov. 11, 2018, Parkey hit the upright and missed four kicks: two extra-point attempts, a 41-yard field goal attempt and a 34-yard field goal attempt.

It’s especially incredible considering a goal post upright should “be no less than 3 inches and no more than 4 inches in diameter,” according to the NFL rulebook.

The space between the uprights is 18 feet, 6 inches wide.