Bears' Cairo Santos 'had to have my teammates’ backs' with game-winner

At some point during the ugly Bears-Buccaneers tussle Sunday night at Soldier Field, kicker Cairo Santos turned to his teammates on the bench at made a declaration: at some point the game would be tied, probably something like 20-20, and the Bears would need to find a way to win it.

He was mostly right. The game was knotted at 24 when Santos swung his right leg for the game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired.

“I had to have my teammates’ backs,” Santos said. “The important thing is we got out of here with a win.”

Santos’ kick was set up by a 38-yard yard pass from Caleb Williams to Colston Loveland on busted Buccaneers coverage to get the ball to the 16. Caleb Williams kneeled twice, putting the ball at the right hash mark, where Santos liked it.

Santos has now made seven game-winning kicks in the final two minutes or overtime, which is the third-most in Bears history. Kevin Butler and Robbie Gould are tied for the lead with 10 apiece.

“Confidence is key,” Santos said. “It’s, dating back to last year, the identity we’ve been building.”