It’s been far too long since the last time we had a proper Kick 6 but, wow, did the Atlanta Falcons come close on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
With the second quarter coming to a close at a snowy Soldier Field, the Bears found themselves at the Atlanta 37-yard line and decided to give kicker Cairo Santos a chance at a long field goal under the circumstances.
Atlanta wisely decided to put returner Dee Alford back in the end zone just in case — which it probably thought to do after missing two field goals of their own already. The kick went up, the clock hit zero and the ball fell right into Alford’s hands who started to slice all the way up field.
FALCONS ALMOST PULLED OFF A KICK-6
📺: #ATLvsCHI on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/sFjqko01pD pic.twitter.com/ea9kQ8NePV— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2023
This was so excruciatingly close to one of the coolest plays of the season. Alford made it all the way back to the 15-yard line before Bears tight end Robert Tonyan made a touchdown-saving tackle.
But go back to the 13-second mark of that clip and listen to the collective groan from Soldier Field as Alford cuts back and finds a bunch of blockers ahead of him. They knew exactly what was coming.
Props to Tonyan for chasing down Alford and stopping a score, but he also robbed us of one the most electric plays in football. Instead it’s just a 96-yard return for naught.
Fans wanted Alford to finish this off so bad.
Near Flashes of former #ChicagoBear & #AtlFalcon @D_Hest23 as Atlanta’s Dee Alford returns Santos’ missed Field goal almost 98 yards before being tripped up! Fitting since Hester named a finalist for @ProFootballHOF earlier this week!
— Peggy Kusinski (@peggykusinski) December 31, 2023
😔
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 31, 2023
Bears fans watching that return like pic.twitter.com/Z7aeaC3us5
— BET99 Ontario (@Bet99ON) December 31, 2023
ALMOST!!!!!!!!!! OMG @ NFL ALMOST!!!! https://t.co/TnX027NCie
— Michael Bolling (@mikealexbolling) December 31, 2023
Falcons have almost done a lot of things in my life https://t.co/vVobYl4aZ8
— Ethan Hulett🏆 (@HulettEthan) December 31, 2023
Bro did all that just to fall at the 10 yard line.. yep that pretty much sums up our season.. is it new years yet!?!
— KT (@k_darell83) December 31, 2023
that Falcons FG return looked like it was happening in slow motion omg those offensive linemen completely overmatched by CB Dee Alford 😂
— Kalyn Kahler (@kalynkahler) December 31, 2023
Dee Alford’s kick return is The Most #Falcons Play Ever.
— Tim Bryant (@TimBryantRadio) December 31, 2023
I can't imagine how stressed I would be as a returner on a play like Dee Alford just had. Must be like trying to run away from an avalanche.
— Will McFadden (@willmcfadden) December 31, 2023
