The situation was an incredibly dangerous one. The Chicago Bears clung to a 27-21 lead. They were 58 yards away from a field goal. A punt would hopefully pin New England deep in their own zone with around a minute and a half left. The defense would just have to prevent a touchdown. However, a field goal would put the Bears up nine points, meaning the Patriots would need two scores to win. That meant score, recover the onside kick, and score again. Far worse odds of winning. There was a big problem for head coach Ben Johnson, though. Well, two actually.
One was that kicker Cairo Santos had just doinked a field goal attempt on the previous drive. That was from 53 yards. Would you really ask him to try again from 5 yards further out? A distance he had never before hit in his career? To the absolute shock of everybody, Johnson sent out the kicking team. No one thought this was a good idea. So you can imagine the reaction when Santos sent the kick straight down the pipe, putting the Bears up 30-21 and putting the game out of reach.
When asked after the game what possessed him to trust his kicker in that situation despite the obvious concerns, Johnson kept it simple.
“Just because he missed doesn’t mean we won’t go back to him…He has ice in his veins.”
Ben Johnson trusted Santos’ guts, not his talent.
His assessment was not wrong. Since joining the Bears in 2020, Santos has kicked 56 field goals in the 4th quarter. He has connected on 47 of them. That is good for an 83.93% accuracy rate. Six of them were “clutch” kicks that either delivered the Bears a win as time expired or proved the difference in the final score. Johnson is correct. Santos seems to play his best when the chips are down. The coach was willing to gamble on that, which is not something many head coaches would be.
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It shows you how much Ben Johnson trusts both the player’s grit and his own instincts for the moment. You can’t always trust the numbers. Sometimes you have to believe a player will come through for you. That is exactly what Santos did. Now the Bears are 5-2 with a massive opportunity to make a statement in the NFC next month when they go to Seattle. Don’t be surprised if that kick becomes a signature moment of a special season.
Santos is a fighter.
That is something you don’t usually say about kickers because of the position they play. This is a guy who’s had people after his job for years. Every time a team misses a kick, everybody starts yapping about the team needing to replace him. Find somebody with a stronger leg who can finally give the Bears some distance help. Yet every time, Santos rallies. He nails a big kick to clinch a win and returns to his usual steadiness. A lot of guys couldn’t handle that kind of pressure in a city like this.
See Cody Parkey.
It seems rather fitting that Santos is in this position. He embodies the spirit of Robbie Gould in many ways. He doesn’t have that big leg everybody loves, but he’s accurate and as mentally tough as they come. This is why Johnson had no problem trusting the guy. It doesn’t matter what position you play. Certain guys just have guts. Santos is one of them.
