Nagy says he’s still confident in Pineiro
Bears coach Matt Nagy said he has confidence kicker Eddy Pineiro will bounce back after missing two of his five field-goal tries Sunday, including what would have been the gamewinner as time expired.
‘‘Because I know who he is as a person,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘And we’ve seen it in practice, and we’ve already seen him nail a 53-yard game-winner in Denver.’’
On the last play of the game, Pineiro missed a 41-yarder wide left that would have beaten the Chargers. In the first quarter, he bounced a 33-yarder off the right upright.
‘‘We have all the faith in the world in him,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘We know he’s going to bounce back. Ask anybody on the team. It’s the NFL. It happens. How do you respond to it?’’
Pineiro was 9-for-10 before Sunday, with his lone miss coming when the Bears had a comfortable lead against the Redskins.
The Bears figure to stick with Pineiro. When he played his fifth game this season, it guaranteed the Bears would send the Raiders a seventh-round pick in 2021 as part of the trade to acquire him.
Pineiro was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after making field goals from 40, 52 and 53 yards against the Broncos in Week 2.
Deadline looms
With the NFL’s trade deadline at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nagy was asked whether he thought the Bears were in need of change. ‘‘No, I don’t,’’ he said. Nagy then claimed not to be concerned about such things, allowing general manager Ryan Pace to steer any conversations.
‘‘I’ll leave that up to Ryan and them,’’ he said. ‘‘They can tell me what [their] ideas or thoughts are, and I’ll chime in. But I’m not dealing with that too much.’’
The Bears seem unlikely to make a significant move. They lack draft capital, having traded away their first-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2020.
The Bears have an extra second- and sixth-round pick, though the latter could become a fifth-rounder if Eagles running back Jordan Howard meets certain conditions.
Miller playing with fire
Receiver Anthony Miller had four catches for 28 yards in the Bears’ first four games but has had 12 for 183 yards in their next three. On Sunday, he had three catches for a season-high 67 yards.
Miller’s attention to detail is ‘‘way better,’’ Nagy said.
‘‘Gets a chance to make plays,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘He plays fast. He’s explosive. I love his energy. I think he brings it every play.’’
Too much, at times. Miller was flagged for taunting after a Bears touchdown against the Raiders.
‘‘We don’t want that — it’s too much,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘That’s reckless. But we want to pull it back and play with fire. I’m all about guys that play with fire.’’