The Chicago Bears came away with a 31-23 road win over the Atlanta Falcons in a game that was far more dominating than the score suggests. Still, there were a few negative takeaways for Chicago including the ejection of Jahdae Walker and seemingly endless penalties that allowed a late surge from Atlanta. Another piece of the game that had to catch a bit of attention was an early 56 yard field goal attempt from Cairo Santos that fell harmlessly and appeared to be a rare poor decision from Ben Johnson from the start.
Santos has limited range and is now 8/11 with a clear issue when it comes from kicking distance. Johnson's explosive offense can easily work around this limitation when it comes to the regular season, having the advantage of often being the better roster. However, down the road against the league's best teams it is going to become a bit more concerning that the Bears lack the ability to score from range.
Playoff games are often decided by kickers and late-game drives to get within range. Chicago are only going to be able to rely on Santos within a very specific range and are more likely to be aggressive and keep Williams on the field understanding the limitations.
With this in mind, there is a reason for the Bears to begin to consider the future of Santos and keep an eye out for any potential upgrades. While kickers are rarely traded and a midseason trade isn't likely, there simply is no way around how big of a concern this could become in the right situation.
Bears have clear cause for concern when it comes to Cairo Santos lack of distance
Johnson's offense has very few limitations and is more than capable of blowing any team off the field on the right day. However, the idea here is the fact that come January when games are close and the opposing team has a range beyond 50 yards on the other side of the field it is going to be a clear concern and force more from your offense.
It is one of the very few concerns that Chicago can point to and makes it clear that the roster is loaded. The Bears have every reason to believe they are a Super Bowl contender and this is why looking at even the smallest potential issues feels important. Santos simply lacks the ability to hit deep with any form of consistency and this should be a concern moving forward.
As solid as the veteran might be within medium and short distance, the league is increasingly moving to scorers capable of hitting from well beyond 55 yards. It will be interesting to watch how Chicago navigates this the rest of the season and whether or not a change is entertained.
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