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Courtney CroninOct 14, 2025, 08:47 PM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, originally covering the Minnesota Vikings before switching to the Chicago Bears in 2022. Courtney is a frequent panelist on Around the Horn and host of Best Week Ever and GameNight on ESPN Radio. She also co-hosts The Chicago Bears Podcast on ESPN 1000. She previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News as a multimedia sports journalist.<\/p>\n LANDOVER, Md. – Jake Moody<\/a> had been on the Chicago Bears’ active roster for all of seven hours by the time he kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Washington Commanders<\/a> 25-24 on Monday night.<\/p>\n Moody was elevated from the practice squad earlier in the day while Bears kicker Cairo Santos<\/a> is dealing with an injury to his right thigh. Santos was injured during Chicago’s Week 4 win at Las Vegas and was a full participant in practice during the week.<\/p>\n “We made it through the week and we just said, ‘Hey, [Santos] wasn’t feeling it, and we went ahead and made the change,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said.<\/p>\n Moody, who has been with the Bears since Sept. 13, became the first Bears kicker to boot a walk-off field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter in his debut with the franchise. The 25-year-old was mobbed by teammates as his game-winner sailed through the uprights at Northwest Stadium. He was then carried off the field in celebration.<\/p>\n “It’s a pretty cool series of events,” Moody said. “A couple days ago, I didn’t know I was playing and to get lifted up by my teammates, it’s an amazing feeling. I’m really glad I got to share that moment with them.”<\/p>\n Moody began the season with San Francisco, the team that drafted him in the third round in 2023. He was cut following the Niners’ season opener against the Seahawks after missing two field goals and signed to the Bears practice squad days ahead of Week 2.<\/p>\n Given his limited time with the franchise, several Bears players were still getting to know their teammate as of kickoff. Running back D’Andre Swift introduced himself to Moody on the sideline during Monday’s game.<\/p>\n “First time I’ve spoken to him,” Swift said. “He did a great job. I don’t know when he found out what his role was going to be today, but just coming in, resilient. Just proud of him. Happy to have him on the team, too.”<\/p>\n Moody went 4-for-5 against the Commanders in wet and windy conditions on Monday. He connected on field goals of 47, 48 and 41 yards before he kicked the game winner with three seconds remaining.<\/p>\n Moody said Santos was an invaluable resource for him during the game.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks “Very, very glad that we did travel with him,” Moody said. “He kicked here a fair among and he was able to kind of help me with the wind, with the field surface, all that stuff. So I was very glad to have an extra set of hands on hand.”<\/p>\n At the start of the fourth quarter, Moody had a 48-yard field goal blocked that put the Commanders at their own 37-yard line. Washington, which held a one-point lead at the time, found the end zone seven plays later when Jayden Daniels<\/a> connected with Zach Ertz<\/a> for a touchdown.<\/p>\n The Bears cut Washington’s lead to 24-22 on their next drive when Swift took a short pass 55 yards for a touchdown. After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Chicago found itself in position to win after Daniels fumbled his exchange with rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt<\/a> near midfield.<\/p>\n The Bears had 3:07 to work with late in the game and leaned on Swift and the ground game. After a slow start to the season, Swift finally broke through with 175 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.<\/p>\n Near the two-minute warning, Moody was shown on the jumbotron warming up for his chance to help Chicago earn its second straight win in walk-off fashion. As the Bears kicking unit took the field with three seconds remaining in the game, Johnson felt confident that his new kicker would be able to deliver with the game on the line.<\/p>\n “No, I wasn’t surprised at all,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen him in practice now for a number of weeks. That’s one. Ant then, we also knew what he was capable of. He’s made big kicks in big games over the course of his career so far. So none of that was surprising. I think that’s who he is, and I think that change of scenery was really good for him.”<\/p>\nJake Moody was elevated from the practice squad earlier in the day and went on to kick a 38-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Washington Commanders 25-24.\u00a0Michael Owens\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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