Bears coach Matt Eberflus defended his decision to try a 46-yard field goal at the gun Sunday rather than run one more play to try to inch Cairo Santos even closer to the south end zone uprights.
With 35 seconds to play and the ball at the 30, the Bears handed off to Roschon Johnson for two yards. Rather than doing something similar again, the Bears let the clock run down to 3 seconds before taking a timeout and sending Santos on the field. His kick was blocked.
“They were loading the box there,” Eberflus said after the game. “You could say you could do that for sure, maybe get a couple more yards, but you also risk fumbling and different things there. We felt where we were … if we were at the 36 or 35 you’re definitely doing that because you want to get it inside there. I felt very confident … with the wind and where we are on the field.”
With good reason.
Santos had a 43-yarder blocked in London with tight end Cole Kmet snapping the ball and the Bears holding a 19-point lead in the game’s final minutes last month. Otherwise, his last miss shorter than 48 yards came in New Orleans on Nov. 5, 2023, when he hit the upright on a 40-yard try.