Winning kick sweet for longtime Bear
CHICAGO — They say revenge is a meal best served cold. Now we know it tastes bittersweet as well.
That’s how 49ers kicker Robbie Gould described his game Sunday, in which he kicked a career-high-tying five field goals against his former team, including the game-winning 24-yarder with 4 seconds to play.
“This one’s kind of bittersweet for me,” Gould said of the 15-14 victory over the Bears. “I played a long time here. I was going against a team that I have a lot of respect for . ... This one means a lot to me in a lot of different ways.”
Gould, Chicago’s all-time leading scorer, played 11 seasons for the Bears before they released him 15 months ago, just ahead of the 2016 season. He took some time off to evaluate his life and his career, but he returned to the NFL when he signed with the 49ers in March. So, one can only imagine what it felt like for the 36-year-old to bury his old team with a last-seconds kick.
As the ball sailed through the uprights, Gould turned toward the Bears’ bench with an intense stare and ran toward midfield. Afterward he was diplomatic about the stare-down with his former teammates, but it was clear there was real emotion at play.
“When I left here, I took a lot of time to reinvent myself,” said Gould. “That one was pretty special for me.”
Gould — who also had five field goals in the 49ers’ 18-15 overtime loss to the Cardinals in Week 4 — connected from 33, 28, 35 and 34 yards prior to the game-winner.
“We talked as a team coming in here trying to find a way to win,” said Gould. “(Our) defense played extremely well. Our offense found a way to win the game . ... We talked about trying to put together a run here to get ready for next year. It’s a total team win.”
His coach agreed wholeheartedly.
“I thought it was a huge team win and I thought everyone contributed,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “But most of all for Robbie, for being 5-for-5 on those field goals and for Robbie coming back to where he spent most of his career is a huge day for him and a perfect time for him to do that for us.”