‘More than just a kick’: Eddy Piñeiro’s winner for Panthers completes redemption season
Ten weeks ago, Panthers kicker Eddy Piñeiro missed two game-winning opportunities against the Atlanta Falcons. After the game, he promised himself to never let his teammates down again.
With the score tied against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Piñeiro made good on that promise when his 42-yard field goal try split the Caesars Superdome uprights as time expired. Led by long snapper JJ Jansen, the Panthers’ players mobbed Piñeiro at midfield to celebrate a 10-7 victory.
“Being able to do it for my teammates, for our coaches, and the whole organization, that is the way we wanted to bounce back and finish the season,” Piñeiro said after helping Carolina end on a high note following last week’s loss to Tampa Bay, which crushed the team’s playoff hopes.
Piñeiro missed two game-winning tries against the Falcons in October. At the end of regulation, he hooked a 48-yard extra point, which was 15 yards longer than normal due to a DJ Moore unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. In overtime, Piñeiro missed a 33-yard field-goal try. Atlanta went on to win via a 41-yard Younghoe Koo kick.
“I told you guys (after Piñeiro’s mistakes in Atlanta) that we weren’t bringing anyone else in,” Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks said. “We weren’t trying anyone else out. We believe in Eddy and Eddy stayed the course. He helped us win a lot of football games, and he won this one today for us.”
Since the Falcons game, Piñeiro has excelled. He finished the season by making 19 consecutive field goals and ended with the NFL’s best field-goal percentage of 94.2%.
“He’s an insanely talented kicker,” punter and holder Johnny Hekker said. “He’s a guy that’s taken every bit of correction and coaching in stride and has done his best to implement it. He’s been a huge asset for our team.”
It’s been a rugged NFL journey for Piñeiro, who has played for six teams in the past four years. Injuries have made him a nomad specialist but he might have found a long-term home in Carolina.
Piñeiro signed with the team in August after Zane Gonzalez sustained a season-ending groin injury. He’s not under contract for next season but he should be an offseason priority for Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer. There is, however, a chance Piñeiro commands too lucrative a contract for the Panthers come free agency in March.
Several players, including Piñeiro, acknowledged that Sunday’s game might have been their final one with the Panthers. Although there was constant sentiment for this group to stick together, Carolina will start its national coaching search on Monday with no guarantee Wilks, Piñeiro, or other key veterans will return.
When asked about his future after Sunday’s game, Wilks said that he was going to “be where his feet are.”
Piñeiro’s feet won Wilks his sixth game as the Panthers’ interim coach. Former coach Matt Rhule never eclipsed five victories in a season.
“It meant a lot. When you go back and look at the year, (Piñeiro) got so scrutinized against Atlanta for missing the field goal,” Wilks said. “We won our last game at home in front of our fans. And we’ve won the last game of the year on the road. (We have) a lot to build on moving forward.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2023 at 8:43 PM.
