Bears kicker Cairo Santos reacts after his 46-yard field goal attempt is blocked in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Nov. 17, 2024. The Bears lost 20-19. Photo by Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus stood by his decision not to run another play to get closer before attempting a field goal in Chicago’s Week 11 loss to the Green Bay Packers. With the Bears trailing by one point, kicker Cairo Santos attempted a 46-yard field goal that Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks blocked as time expired, securing Green Bay’s 20-19 victory at Soldier Field. The loss extended Chicago’s losing streak to the Packers to 11 games, dating back to 2018.
“We felt good in terms of where the kick line was,” Eberflus said. “The wind was not a factor today, and Cairo has made a bunch of those kicks inside of that range. We feel confident in Cairo and confident in our operation there.”
Packers’ Special Teams Deliver
The Bears began their last drive at their 30-yard line with 2:59 left. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams connected with Rome Odunze for a key 16-yard gain on third-and-19 and then again for a fourth-and-3 conversion, bringing the Bears past midfield. Chicago advanced further and ran the ball with Roschon Johnson for 2 yards with 35 seconds left from Green Bay’s 30-yard line. Eberflus opted to let the clock run down before using the final timeout, sending Santos out for the kick. The Packers, who had no timeouts, then made their decisive block.
The block was just the second game-winning field goal block in Packers history, the first happening in 1939 against the Cleveland Rams.
“They were loading the box there,” Eberflus said. “You could say you could do that for sure, maybe get a couple more yards, but you’re also going to risk fumbling and different things there. We felt where we were, if we’re at the 36 or 35, you definitely want to do that because you want to get it inside there. I felt very confident where we were at that time with the wind and where we were on the field.”
Santos’ kick, despite a good snap and hold, was blocked by Brooks, who got a piece of the ball with his left middle finger.
“That was a comfortable range there,” Santos said. “Left hash in that left or right wind, everything felt great and it looked like the line that the ball was going was right down the middle. I hit it solid on my foot. Operation was good, snap, hold. They just made a good play with the penetration there.”
Bears’ Costly Final Play Strategy
The Packers had planned for this moment, with special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia emphasizing the importance of blocking kicks in team meetings.
“I will say this: Rich said to our team last night, ‘I will not understand if we come out of this game without a block, whether field goal or PAT,'” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “So, great job from our special teams coaches.”
“We saw that through the middle [that] we could get a good push through the middle,” said Packers safety Xavier McKinney, who lined up on the edge to Santos’ blind side. “And we believed that the guys that we have were going to play big and be stronger up front and we were able to get that push that we needed. And we got it when we needed it at a big-time situation, and we got the block. We saw it just studying the film throughout the week, and we were able to get it.”
Bears’ Missed Opportunity: Calls for a Final Play
Brooks said he could pinpoint exactly where he got the ball. It was with his left middle finger.
“At first when I touched it, I didn’t think I got enough of it,” said Brooks, who also blocked a field goal against the Minnesota Vikings last season as a rookie. “And it fell short, and that’s when I really celebrated. So, it was fun, though, for sure. It was cool. It was a good experience.”
Brooks credited his teammate Lukas Van Ness for aiding the effort by pushing him into position
“I was on the same side with Karl, and I knew that he was going to pressure that inside A gap, so I just got behind him and I pushed him as hard as I could,” Van Ness said. “Before I knew it, I saw his hand go up and I heard ‘thunk,’ and I heard everybody screaming. Super exciting. I was happy to be out there and do what I could to help this team win.”
Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper noted that Santos’ kicks tend to have a low trajectory, which the Packers had picked up on during film review and his earlier 53-yard make.
“We’ve been emphasizing it so much this week,” Cooper said. “We just saw how low he was kicking the ball, so we knew we had a real good chance of blocking it.”
Quay Walker, another Packers linebacker, expressed surprise that the Bears didn’t run another play.
“At least one more play,” Walker said. “At least run the ball trying to get closer to the field goal.”
Jaylon Johnson Reflects on Bears’ Tough Losses
This marked the second time in recent weeks the Bears lost a game on the final play. In Week 8, a tipped Hail Mary allowed Washington’s Noah Brown to score the game-winning touchdown. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson faced scrutiny then after engaging with fans and missing his defensive assignment.
“It’s almost comical,” Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said Sunday of the nature of the Bears’ recent losses. “The luck of the damn draw at this point. We’ve got to figure it out, how to be better.”
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This report used information from ESPN.
