Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet received excellent news to start his bye week after an MVP-caliber performance in Week 6. In the victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kmet stepped up as the emergency long snapper after the team’s starter, Scott Daly, was sidelined with a knee injury during the second offensive drive.
Kmet recorded five receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns, significantly contributing to the Bears’ 35-16 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On Monday, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero revealed that Daly’s injury is deemed week-to-week. Nonetheless, the specialist might not miss any action as the Bears are beginning their bye week today.
Cole Kmet getting relieved of his duties as the Chicago Bears long snapper
It’s always a relief to find out that a starting player won’t be sidelined for long, but this is especially beneficial for Daly’s backup. Following the game, Kmet admitted that he’s not particularly thrilled about playing long snapper, even though he serves as the team’s backup in that role.
“It’s not like I have a ton of time on task on that, like I do at tight end, but at the end of the day that’s kind of what this league is, you just have to plug-n-play guys out of position here and there and it just happened to me,” said the Bears’ star tight-end.
“I was tired enough on each of those where I’m not even thinking about it in a sense. You’re just so tired on the field that, I’m gonna shoot this ball into my legs real quick and get this over with. I think that’s kind of the feel. I think going in the night of the game, though, I do think about all the scenarios and the plays and then I just think, ‘Gosh, I hope [Patrick] Scales or Scott [Daly] don’t get hurt today’,” Kmet continued.
Cole Kmet excelling at a role he reluctantly plays
Although Kmet wasn’t exactly excited to take on that role during Sunday’s game, he excelled, delivering perfect snaps for extra point attempts and a field goal attempt late in the game. However, the two touchdowns he scored will be what truly counts in the Bears’ record books.
As per Stathead, Kmet has achieved multiple touchdown receptions in a game five times throughout his career. This places him among just two Bears tight ends to reach that milestone, with Mike Ditka holding the record at six.
Although Kmet has recorded two touchdown catches in each of those games, Ditka’s career-high in a single game was four, accomplished during an October 1963 victory against the Rams.
Desmond Clark is the only other Bears tight end to have three multiple-touchdown games, with two of those occurring in the 2006 season when the Bears made it to the Super Bowl.
Adding to his accomplishments, Kmet became the first long-snapper in NFL history to score two touchdowns in a single half following his performance on Sunday.
“Obviously it’s pretty dramatic when you lose your short and long snapper,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus remarked on Monday.
“It’s an important part, scoring points and obviously getting the punts off. He practices it every Thursday, after practice he gets with those guys for the long and short snaps, and he does a good job. He’s solid in there and I know he’s always concerned that he has to do that and thankfully yesterday we didn’t punt again after the injury. So, we were good. He was good in there and my hats off to him,” he continued via Kole Noble of A to Z Sports.
The bye week arrives at an opportune moment for Kmet and the Bears.
