Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said poor protection technique — and not kicker Cairo Santos’ low trajectory or the hash mark or the distance he was kicking from — was the root of the breakdown that led to Santos’ 46-yard field goal getting blocked on the final play of a 20-19 loss to the Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field.
And he took the blame for it.
“Extremely disappointed for our players. But I’m also disappointed for our support staff and our entire organization and the city of Chicago,” said Hightower, who is in his third season as the special teams coordinator.
“For any success or any failure of any field goal, it starts with the protection, the operation and the execution. When those things are wrong, your field goal isn’t what you want it to be. And that starts and ends with me.”
The breakdown in the “A” gap between left guard Matt Pryor and long-snapper Scott Daly allowed Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks to get penetration and tip Santos’ kick with his left hand.
“We just gotta get to our technique more quickly and more violently than our opponent. That’s what needs to happen to firm it up there,” Hightower said. “And I’m looking forward to our guys responding this week and getting that done.”
Hightower said he had no issue with Santos kicking from the left hash mark, even though Santos prefers the right hash mark on PATs. He also said Santos’ low trajectory was not a factor. Santos was 8 of 9 on field goal attempts of 46 yards or longer before the fateful kick, missing only a 56-yarder against the Colts in Week 3. Had hit from 53 yards earlier in the Packers game.
“I don’t have any issue with Cairo. I don’t have an issue with our field-goal protection team. The result of the play was not our desired result … and that’s starts with me. And it ends with me. It has to do with nobody else.”
As for the possible illegal contact with Daly that might have warranted a penalty — the Bears turned in the play for the league office to address — Hightower didn’t want to touch that.
“That’s really not for me to speak to and it doesn’t change the result,” Hightower said.
Injury update
Running back D’Andre Swift (groin) and left guard Teven Jenkins made progress toward being able to play Sunday against the Vikings.
Swift practiced on a limited basis Thursday after sitting out Wednesday’s practice. Jenkins had full participation after being limited Wednesday.
Safety Elijah Hicks (ankle), guard Ryan Bates (concussion), rookie tackle Kiran Amegadjie (calf) and tight end Marcedes Lewis (rest) did not practice.
Sam the Sham?
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has had a career resurgence under Kevin O’Connell. The No. 3 overall pick by the Jets in 2018 has a career high 100.0 passer rating (19 touchdowns 10 interceptions) after coming into the season with a 78.3 career passer rating (63 touchdowns, 56 interceptions).
But Darnold has been vulnerable since starting the season with a 118.9 rating (11 touchdowns, three interceptions) in the Vikings’ first four games. Since then, Darnold has an 89.3 rating (eight touchdowns, even interceptions) in six games, including two interceptions against the Colts in Week 8 and three against the Jaguars in Week 9.
The Vikings’ offense scored 27.3 points in their 4-0 start, but has averaged 19.2 points in the last six games (4-2) since Darnold starting throwing more picks.
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson sees opportunity there.
“He started off hot [but] he’s had a lot of turnovers lately, and you can see how it affects the team on tape,” Johnson said. “So we want to be disruptive and get some turnovers, because that changes the dynamics of the [Vikings’] offense.”