The bizarre physics of a football that refused to fall
In short: In the final seconds of a high-stakes NFL playoff game, a kick defied logic. It struck an upright, ricocheted off the crossbar, and bounced back onto the goal line. This surreal moment birthed a new piece of sports lexicon and sparked a lasting debate over what actually happened.
The incident occurred during the 2018 NFC Wild Card game between the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field. With only seconds remaining, Bears kicker Cody Parkey attempted a 43-yard field goal. The ball was partially blocked by Eagles defensive lineman Treyvon Hester, causing it to strike the left upright before bouncing off the crossbar and landing on the 3-yard line. This sequence of events resulted in a 16–15 victory for the defending champion Eagles and ended the Bears' season.
The terminology surrounding the play is as complex as the physics involved. While commentator Cris Collinsworth famously coined the phrase "double doink" during the live broadcast, he later clarified that he did not invent the term. The word "doink" was previously used by John Madden to describe the percussive thump of a ball hitting a post. Furthermore, records indicate that Chris Berman first used the specific phrase "double doink" in 2000 to describe a different missed kick by Jason Hanson.
The official ruling of the play added another layer of nuance. Although it appeared to be a bizarre bounce, the NFL eventually ruled the attempt as a block. A frame-by-frame replay revealed that Hester's finger actually made contact with the ball just before it hit the upright. This distinction is significant in football mechanics, where a blocked kick carries different implications than a kick that simply misses its mark.
The "double doink" has since become a recurring motif in sports culture. It inspired a victory theme for the 2018–19 St. Louis Blues NHL team and appeared in various fan spoofs. Two subsequent instances occurred: Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs hit both uprights on an extra point attempt in 2019, and Wil Lutz of the New Orleans Saints struck both the left upright and crossbar during a 61-yard attempt in 2022.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Double Doink
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