Yesterday, the Chicago Bears named kicker Cairo Santos as their Special Teams Player of the Year, which was well deserved, because in a season full of clutch moments, Santos had a hand in several of their comebacks.
His understanding of the Soldier Field winds is something he’s learned in the last six years in Chicago, and it’s helped make him the most accurate field goal kicker in team history.
In the regular season, he made 25 of 30 field goals (83.3%) and all 39 extra points. In Chicago’s two playoff
games, Santos made all four extra points and all four field goals, including a postseason franchise record 51-yarder in their Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers.
He was a perfect four for four on field goals in the Bears’ Week 4 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, earning his first game ball of the season.
His last-second 48-yard field goal against the Minnesota Vikings earned him a second game ball, but more importantly, it gave us the Skol-Griddy.
He was three for three on field goals, dribbled a beautiful onside kick that Josh Blackwell recovered, and hit the game-tying extra point against the Packers in a Week 16 win, which earned him the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week and a third game ball from head coach Ben Johnson.
Santos started to make an impact for the Bears with the NFL’s new dynamic kickoff rules, something Johnson acknowledged in November.
“Our kickoff is really starting to become a weapon for us,” Johnson said via the team site. “Cairo is doing a phenomenal job with some of these dirty kicks, and it’s really helping us with our field position there to start drives on defense.”
Clutch kicks, dirty kicks, onside kicks, leadership, and the Skol-Griddy all make Cairo the Bears’ Special Teams Player of the Year.
In case you missed it, the Bears named Caleb Williams as their Offensive Player of the Year and Kevin Byard III as their Defensive Player of the Year.
