Hester didn’t see the double-doink, but he didn’t miss the ball
The defensive tackle got his fingers on Cody Parkey’s kick.
You saw the double-doink. I saw the double-doink.
The 62,462 fans at Soldier Field saw the double-doink.
The Bears mascot certainly saw the double-doink.
The one guy who didn’t? Treyvon Hester.
You should know his name by now.
Hester is the guy who blocked Cody Parkey’s 43-yard field goal attempt and allowed the Eagles to advance to Sunday’s conference semifinal matchup with the New Orleans Saints.
How did Hester miss Parkey’s famous field-goal attempt?
“I didn’t even see it bounce off,” Hester said Thursday. “I was so frustrated I thought I didn’t get enough.”
Hester said the ball “grazed” his fingertips.
“It felt good,” he said, “but to be honest I felt like I didn’t get enough of it because when I looked back it looked like it was still on the right path, so when I looked back I’m like, ‘Oh man, I didn’t get enough.”
Moments later, he realized he did.
“When I turned back around, I just heard the reaction of the crowd and the team just running out there,” he said. “It was just a surprise, like a wow — I couldn’t believe that it really happened.”
The fact that Hester was in a position to make such a play in the first place is hard to believe. The 26-year-old defensive tackle began training camp with the Oakland Raiders, who drafted him out of Toledo in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. He was among their final cuts after camp and four days later joined the Eagles practice squad.
With their defensive line thin because of injuries, the Eagles promoted Hester to the active roster three weeks later. He played in 12 games this season, starting one.
“It’s definitely self-fulfilling. Basically Philadelphia proved me right,” Hester said. “They allowed me to show everybody what I can do.
“It’s definitely a big confidence booster. It’s something you can put on the back of your shoulder and keep moving.”
It’s also something he has a picture of.
“Definitely do,” he said. “Hang it up in my man cave and send one back home to mom.”
Hester finished the regular
season with 20 total tackles and a sack. His defensive stat line from the wild-card win over the Bears — first career playoff game — reads all zeros, but that doesn’t matter.
He made the game’s most important play. It was not only the first blocked field goal of his life but also the first in Eagles
postseason history.
Although Hester yelled immediately after grazing the ball, and teammates after the game said he blocked it, the league didn’t make the official scoring change until the next day.
“Definitely [felt good]. I like to get the recognition,” Hester said. “[I’m] a second-year guy trying
to make a name for myself, but I’ve got a lot of vets out here that are helping me out, so I’m grateful.
“They know the game, they’re willing to teach the game and are willing to help me learn the game, so it’s easy for me.
“Everybody knows who Fletcher Cox, Haloti Ngata, Chris Long — all the veteran guys that we got here. Whatever I can do to play my part, I’m going to help.”
So far, so good.
aschwartz@mcall.com Twitter @aschwartz94 610-508-1501