Bears kicker Cairo Santos has been named the NFC special teams player of the week for his performance in Monday night's 33-14 win over the Patriots.
Santos made all four field goals he attempted from 42, 23, 38 and 50 yards and was 3-of-3 on extra points in the Bears' impressive victory at Gillette Stadium.
He has now connected on 17 straight field-goal attempts, his final six last year and all 11 this season. It's the NFL's second longest active streak behind the Raiders' Daniel Carlson, who has hit 39 in a row.
"It's great to have [such a reliable kicker]," said coach Matt Eberflus. "It's certainly comforting, and he's done a good job. He's a pro through and through, and he comes to work every single day."
This is the second player of the week award that Santos has won. He was previously honored in Week 6 of the 2020 season after making all three field goals he tried from 31, 55 and 31 yards in the Bears' 23-16 win over the Panthers in Charlotte.
Santos was also named AFC player of the month for November 2016 when he played for the Chiefs after hitting all 11 field goals and five extra points he attempted in four games.
Santos has surpassed Robbie Gould as the most accurate kicker in Bears history with a 90.7 percent success rate (68 of 75). He connected on 1 of 2 in two games with the Bears in 2017, 30 of 32 in 2020 and 26 of 30 in 2021.
Santos converted 40 straight field goals in 2020-21, a team record and tied for the third longest streak in NFL history. Gould made 85.4 percent of his field goals (276 of 323) during 11 seasons with the Bears from 2005-15.
Santos has resurrected his career in Chicago. He converted 84.8 percent of his field-goal attempts (89 of 105) during his first four NFL seasons with the Chiefs from 2014-17. But after aggravating a groin injury in a Week 3 win in 2017, he was placed on injured reserve and then released.
Santos signed with the Bears later that season. He appeared in two games, but he hurt his groin again and landed on injured reserve. He kicked for the Rams and Buccaneers in 2018 and the Titans in 2019 before rejoining the Bears in 2020.
