Bears kicker Cairo Santos is NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Bears kicker Cairo Santos has earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors following his performance Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

Santos went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and made both extra points in the Bears’ 23-16 win over Carolina.

Santos made two field goals of 31 yards, and made a career-long 55-yard field goal. The 55-yard kick tied for the third-longest field goal in Bears history. Only Robbie Gould’s 58-yard field goal on Sept. 8, 2013, and Gould’s 57-yard field goal on Dec. 11, 2011, were longer makes for the Bears. Santos’ kick Sunday was the sixth 55-yard field goal in team history.

“That 55-yarder, it didn’t shock me that he hit it,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “The thing with Cairo is that he’s very confident and he doesn’t get [down].”

Santos is 10-for-12 kicking field goals this season (83.3%) and has made all 12 extra point attempts. His 10 made field goals is tied for fourth in the NFC.

For Santos, the honor is the first weekly honor of his NFL career. He is the first Bears player to win NFC Special Teams Player of the Week since Eddy Pineiro did it in Week 2 of last season after making a game-winning kick against Denver. Santos previously won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November in 2016 when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs.