If anything could go wrong on special teams for the Chicago Bears in their Week 9 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, it certainly did go disastrously.
Right from the beginning, Bengals kickoff returner Charlie Jones took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown on the first play of the game. Things continued to spiral out of control in the first half with multiple strong returns by Cincinnati, capped off by Cairo Santos getting his field goal blocked at the end of the half.
The second half only grew more perilously close to costing them the game as the Bengals' late-game onside kick went off the foot of Bears defensive end Daniel Hardy and was recovered by Cincinnati, leading to a touchdown that gave them the lead. Luckily, Caleb Williams put on his Superman cap and connected with Colston Loveland for the game-winning score to bail the special teams out.
Facing the media, Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower took accountability for the poor performance. Hightower said he and the team will be working around the clock to make sure it doesn't happen again.
"We are going to work night and day to get it all cleaned up. I can promise you that. I will bust my ass and they will too, alright, to get it cleaned up."
New questions arise with Bears special teams
The kickoff coverage has not been good, and some of the strategies on who is out there have been questionable at best. Bears fans have wondered why Hardy was even on the onside kick, as there should be more guys with better hands on there than worrying about having blockers out in front.
Bears return special Devin Duvernay, outside of the 49-yard return, hasn't quite been the dominant returner fans thought he would be this season. Among returners with 20 or more kickoff returns, Duvernay is tied for last in average return yards with 25.2. He's done a little better on punt returns, as he is 14th with an average of 10.8 yards per return.
After returning from his injury, Santos has been less automatic than he was at the beginning of the season. He has missed field goals in each of the last two games for the Bears, but has at least been perfect on extra points.
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There's still time to clean things up, but with it being the middle of the season, these are the type of mistakes that could prevent the Bears from making the postseason. Things have to change on special teams this week.