Do the Chicago Bears have the best kicker in the NFC North?

With kickers’ egregious performance in Week 5 of the NFL season, the Chicago Bears should be happy with their kicking situation in Cairo Santos— which is far from how Chicago felt in the 2018 season.

Is Chicago Bears’ Cairo Santos the NFC North’s best kicker?

Not only is Cairo Santos 34 for his last 34 field goal attempts, but he’s the only kicker in the NFC North currently that’s kicking at a 100% rate for both field goals and extra points.

"Austin Seibert (DET): FGA: 6; FGM: 5 (83%) | XPA: 4; XPM: 4 (100%)Cairo Santos (CHI): FGA: 7; FGM: 7 (100%) | XPA: 9; XPM: 9 (100%)Greg Joseph (MIN): FGA: 12; FGM: 10 (83%) | XPA: 12; XPM: 11 (92%)Mason Crosby (GB): FGA: 13; FGM: 10 (77%) | XPA: 13; XPM: 12 (92%)"

So, in terms of just who kicks the ball through the uprights at a more accurate rate, no one has a better percentage than Cairo Santos’ 100% field goal and extra point percentage.

Considering there were 24 total missed kicks on Sunday in Week 5— holy cow, that’s wild to see in writing— having a kicker that’s 100% in their accuracy is very impressive. With that, there were 48 missed points on Sunday alone. That doesn’t include the three missed kicks by Indianapolis Colts’ Rodrigo ‘Hot Rod’ Blankenship on Monday Night against the Baltimore Ravens.

So, while the Chicago Bears have missed consistent kicking since their lord and savior, Robbie Gould, walked, having an automatic kicker— or close to that— is something that teams don’t realize until they have until it’s gone.

There’s apparent reason to poke fun at Chicago Bears kickers in the past, precisely one that rhymes with Shmody Flarkey. Can you guess who I’m referring to?

Ah, yes. The double doink. Chicago’s closest chance to deep post-season success ends due to (a bad game for Chicago and) a double doink.

So, while the Chicago Bears might not be a powerhouse in the NFC North— or maybe they are becoming one— they can at least hang their head high when the special teams unit goes out to get the very important one-to-three points.