Cairo Santos Is On A Remarkable Streak. His Secret? Not What You'd Think

Cairo Santos had a good year in 2021. He missed five total kicks that season, including four field goals and one extra point. The problem in his mind was that three of those five misses came at Soldier Field. He was running into the same issues his predecessors had for years. Kicking in the stadium was a challenge. Most people chalk it up to the weather. Soldier Field sits right on Lake Michigan, meaning it's at the mercy of the unpredictable winds and other elements it can often throw into the mix.

So it must be a shock to many hearing that Santos has gone 36-of-39 on field goal attempts over the past two years, and only one of those three misses was at Soldier Field. It is easily one of the best runs a kicker has ever had at the stadium. It's not like the weather has changed in that time. Yet something has to explain the results. It turns out there is. Santos revealed his big secret to reporters during a locker room talk in the week leading up to the Bears' visit to Detroit.

"The grass has been amazing these last two years. I'm so thankful. It's actually a lot more enjoyable to kick at Soldier Field. It's pristine. It really is. They have done a great job there and taken that element out of things so I can focus on just doing my craft."

Cairo Santos wasn't even the primary benefactor.

Last year, head coach Matt Eberflus recognized a problem with the Soldier Field playing surface. It had used Kentucky Bluegrass as its sod for years. The problem was it always seemed to fall apart in bad weather and couldn't handle colder conditions. Running on it, and more specifically kicking, was always a misadventure. Eberflus decided to petition the Chicago Park District to change the sod to a Bermuda strain called Tahoma 31. It was sturdier and was known to handle adverse weather better.

From how Cairo Santos talks about it, the change is a massive victory for the organization. There have been zero complaints about the playing surface since the Bears transitioned at the start of 2022. If only somebody had bothered to take this issue more seriously years ago. Maybe the team wouldn't have suffered some of their brutal defeats because of unreliable kicking. One can only hope Santos' success continues. He will be a free agent next off-season. Chicago likely will want to extend him at some point.