For three quarters of play, the Chicago Bears looked like the dominant side in their NFC North showdown against the Minnesota Vikings. However, that all changed over the final 15 minutes of gametime at Soldier Field on Monday night.
It is never accurate to place all of the blame on one player when a team comes up short. There are always several reasons why a football game plays out the way it does. With that being said, there are two distinct plays from Bears kicker Cairo Santos that hurt Chicago's chances of keeping the lead they had built through three quarters.
Missed FG, Bad Kickoff by Santos Hurt Chicago's Chances at Week 1 Win
Santos lined up for a 50-yard field goal attempt to close the third quarter that would have put the Bears up 20-6 entering the final frame. From the mental side of things alone, facing a two-touchdown deficit on the road with one quarter left to play and a QB making his first start calling the shots, Minnesota could have easily crumbled had Santos not missed that kick wide right.
Instead, following that miss, the Vikings went right down the field for their first of three consecutive fourth-quarter touchdown drives. Minnesota ultimately took a 27-17 lead before Chicago scored a TD to cut the deficit back to three points with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.
This is where Santos had his next inexcusable miscue. With 2:02 remaining on the clock and one timeout in its back pocket, Chicago needed to do everything in its power to preserve the clock. This meant not allowing the Vikings to return the kickoff, no matter what.
Rather than kicking the ball out of the back of the end zone or even directly out of bounds and taking the penalty that would have come with it, Santos booted the ball about five yards into the end zone, allowing for Minnesota to return the kick and bleed the clock below the two-minute warning.
All credit to the Vikings coaching staff for understanding the time and score situation. Kevin O'Connell emphatically called for Ty Chandler to run the kick back and not take a knee. This left the Bears with just one opportunity to stop the clock. Allowing for Minnesota to bleed the clock down to just nine seconds after punting the ball back to Chicago with just enough time for the Bears' unsuccessful attempt at a hook-and-ladder.
This loss isn't directly on the shoulders of Santos, but it's hard not to look at these two miscues and say they didn't directly impact the outcome on Monday night.