Bears, Santos find some redemption with win over Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos kept coming up short during his pregame warmups at Lambeau Field on Sunday. But if he had to kick a long field goal to snap the Bears' 11-game losing streak to theGreen Bay Packers, Santos was confident what he may lack in power could be made up for with adrenaline.
After all, this was the moment he had specifically hoped would present itself when he prayed about it with his wife and mother throughout the week: another shot at a game-winning field goal after his last chance to walk off a winner against the Packers -- a 46-yarder in Week 11 -- was blocked.
With two seconds remaining in a dreadful 2024 season for the Bears, Santos got his chance.
The 33-year-old booted a low trajectory ball that traveled 51 yards and through the uprights, giving the Bears a 24-22 win as time expired. Santos sprinted around the field with his teammates in tow, mimicking the celebration made famous by international soccer superstar Didier Drogba, before jumping into the stands for a Lambeau Leap.
"I don't think I could've written a cooler script for myself," Santos said.
Santos' personal redemption is one shared by his teammates as Sunday's win snapped a 10-game losing streak that dates back to late October. Chicago earned its first victory two months and 24 days after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in London and reached a milestone few on the roster and coaching staff had ever experienced by beating the Packers for the first time since 2018.
"To be honest, you're already kind of building that scenario for weeks," Santos said. "[Bears special teams coordinator Richard] Hightower and I talked with the specialists, just prepare yourself for this moment, because in football it can happen. Sometimes you don't get that chance, but at least you've prepared yourself mentally for that moment before it happens. It's a little bit of a blur because you don't think about, 'Oh, it's happening.' You're just kind of already replaying that play in your head, and you go do it.
"It's pretty cool. So cool to be a part of that in this stadium."
The Bears were swept by the Lions and Vikings and finished with a 1-5 record against the NFC North. These games provided some of the most competitive moments of the season for the Bears after rookie quarterback Caleb Williams led a furious fourth-quarter comeback against the Vikings at Soldier Field to force overtime and had the Bears in position to tie or win versus Green Bay in Week 11 and against Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.
The same thing happened in a loss at Washington that served as the catalyst for the Bears' tailspin from Week 8 through Week 17. A tipped Hail Mary led to the first of 10 straight losses.
As Williams connected with wide receiver DJ Moore for an 18-yard reception that put Santos in range to lift his team into the win column for the first time in 12 weeks, the rookie experienced a breakthrough he hopes will spark momentum for the Bears entering the offseason.
"You couldn't ask for a better way to end the season through all of what's going on, through all of coaches being fired, not playing well myself and us losing many, many games in a row," Williams said. "Being able to put Cairo in that same situation that we put him last game, him being able to relive that moment and not just relive it but obviously put it through the uprights. Being able to have that moment was great.
"Being able to have the first win in 2025, being able to have the first win since 2015 in Lambeau, being able to have the first win versus Green Bay in 10 games, and so it's the first of a lot and really excited about this offseason, being able to grow for myself, the moves and people that we'll get to be able to grow and make a monumental jump for next year and to be able to start next season off right."br/]
