Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos is not known for his long leg. It is no secret that he has a history of struggling with field goals over 50 yards and the Bears’ game against the New England Patriots put that on display.
With Chicago up 27-21 in the fourth quarter, they had a 13-play drive that got them down to the Patriots’ 35-yard line. After quarterback Caleb Williams had to throw the ball away on third down, the Bears elected to attempt the 53-yard field goal. As soon as he kicked it, the ball was headed straight for the upright. It doinked and went out.
Luckily, the Bears’ defense was able to force New England to punt and give the ball back to Chicago. They had another long drive, this time lasting 12 plays. On third-an-5 from Chicago’s 30-yard line, Williams was sacked for a loss of 10 yards, putting the ball back all the way at the 40-yard line and making a potential field goal 58 yards.
It seemed like the Bears would be forced to punt, especially after Santos’ earlier miss. But head coach Ben Johnson had all the confidence in the world in Santos to make the field goal, and that's exactly what he did to seal the win.
“Just because he missed doesn’t mean we won’t go back to him," Johnson said. "…He has ice in his veins."
He added: "You ask him and he’s like, ‘Absolutely, I need redemption because I missed one earlier.’ And he came through for us in a big way.”
Santos' 58-yard field goal made it 30-21 with under two minutes left in the game. New England was able to make their own field goal before the end of the game, but the Bears recovered the onside attempt and won the game. The kick was his longest field goal and tied for the longest in Chicago’s history.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson on why he let Bears K Cairo Santos attempt 58-yard FG