The Chicago Bears had a tight back-and-forth game against the New England Patriots on “Thursday Night Football” with the Bears pulling it out 30-24 to improve to 5-2 on the season.

It was another full-team win for the Bears on all three phases, but a key decision and sign of trust on special teams proved to be a key difference late in the fourth quarter against the Patriots.

Ben Johnson’s trust in Cairo Santos proved to be the difference-maker against the Patriots

Chicago Bears fans have had a love-hate relationship with kicker Cairo Santos for years. He’s the most accurate kicker in franchise history, but it was widely discussed how Santos didn’t have the leg needed to make a big kick. And how that was a limitation that would eventually bite the Bears in a critical game.

However, ever since he arrived to Chicago, head coach Ben Johnson has always had the up-most confidence in Santos. He’s been a team captain in back-to-back seasons and after every mistake, Johnson is always the first one there to back him up and rebuild that confidence inside him.

All of that was on full display on Thursday night. In the fourth quarter, the Bears were up six points and had a chance to make it a two-possession lead after getting stopped on third down with just under eight minutes left. Santos was faced with a 53-yard field goal but the ball went just a little right and banged off the uprights.

Bears fans every where on social media immediately started calling for Santos’ head and rightfully so, that’s a kick you have to make in that moment.

Fortunately, the defense got a stop on the following drive. But, Chicago’s offense once again stalled the next possession, leaving Johnson with a tough decision. If he sent Santos out on fourth-and-15, it would have been a career-long attempt for Santos coming off a miss. But, with 15-yards needed for the first down and the chance of making it a two-possession lead, the Bears had no choice but to trust Santos. And he delivered.

“A lot of time and effort goes into it, our process pregame tells us a lot about how he’s feeling and what those maximum distance lines are. You ask him and he’s like, ‘Absolutely, I need redemption because I missed one earlier,’ and he came through for us in a big way,” Johnson explained.

In hindsight, quarterback Caleb Williams taking that sack of 10-yards was a disaster play in that moment. You want to keep the clock running and not throw it away, but taking the sack forced Santos into a longer field goal and the entire team into a tough spot.

“Thought I could take the sack in that situation, keep the clock running, and force them to use the timeout. But, in that situation, we’ll go back and look at it and learn from it if we get in that situation again,” Williams explained. “But, that’s my guy Cairo.”

Not only was it a career-long for Santos, but it was also the longest field goal by a Bears kicker ever at Soldier Field. And it certainly quieted the doubters (including myself) that said Santos didn’t have the leg for a big kick. And again, the confidence to send Santos back out there to begin with instead of punting speaks volumes.

“We believe in each other whenever anything happens,” Williams added. “Cairo misses, cool. I got your back, the defense has your back. When we don’t score, or I put us in that situation, Cairo has our back. That’s the type of guy Cairo is. He said at the end that he wanted to have our back, put (him) out there on the field, and that’s what coach did. Coach trusted him, we trust him, and that’s who we are.”

That level of trust and support across the entire team is real for this team. And the little things like that go a long way for a team with championship aspirations.