How Cairo Santos, Bears special teams rebounded to pull off another wild win
He wanted the ball for his kicker.
“Once I heard the ball kicked, I looked up to see where it’s going, and I had full faith it was going to go in,” Daly said after the Bears’ 19-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings, “and just making sure I was able to get that ball to Cairo, as he deserved it.”
Daly stood holding the ball as Santos hugged his teammates. He presented it to the kicker and said, “So happy for you. Way to bounce back, dude.”
Santos and the Bears’ special teams unit bounced back in the best way after two blunders in the fourth quarter created the situation that required a game-winning kick. And then it was Santos and kickoff returner Devin Duvernay who made sure the third phase went from goat to hero.
“I love where our team is at right now. It’s not always pretty,” Santos told his teammates and coaches when he received a game ball. “I made a mistake, and I don’t want to put our team in that situation again. But we all trust each other and have faith we’re all going to come clutch in the end.”
Life as a special-teamer: It can be a roller coaster.
Take cornerback Josh Blackwell, a stalwart on special teams since he arrived in 2022, yet he got his feet caught up on a punt and ran into the returner, which led to a 15-yard penalty. Then it was Blackwell whose block helped spring Duvernay on his 56-yard return.
“Man, just a lot of green grass and eyes lit up,” Duvernay said. “Moment to make a play.”
The coverage units had been stout most of the afternoon, especially on kickoffs. Then they let punt returner Miles Page get loose for 43 yards, setting up the Vikings’ first touchdown of the fourth quarter. Several of those players were on the field for Duvernay’s clutch return, his longest of the season.
“This team has done a great job. Like, we don’t really flinch,” linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga said. “Yeah, we gave up a long return, but there is never a doubt. Nobody was worried. It’s like, man, it’s our time to make a play, so we trusted it.”
The Bears entered Sunday 21st in the league in kickoff returns. Duvernay ranked 25th in return average. His lone return in Minnesota came with 50 seconds on the clock.
Quarterback Caleb Williams had a feeling before the game that Duvernay would get loose for a long return. It just happened to be the most important return of the season.
Duvernay said that earlier in his career, in a situation like this, he might have tried to force it and done too much, knowing how critical a long return was.
“That doesn’t always work out,” he said. “So just let the game come to you.”
The kickoff went to Duvernay at the 4-yard line, and he ran up the numbers before veering right. Blackwell had his block, and Duvernay just had to outrun No. 96, linebacker Tyler Batty.
“Honestly, I was just trying to get down the sidelines, maximize the return, and just put ourselves in a great position to get some points to win the game,” he said.
Ogbongbemiga was on the back side of the play, and knowing what the design was and how the Vikings would attack it, he believed Duvernay could spring one.
“I felt them crash the whole time, you know. We could tell where they were heading because they would tilt themselves,” he said. “So as soon as I saw them tilt, I knew they were going to crash in, and we just have to move our feet, sustain our blocks for a tick, and (Duvernay) has got to show why he gets paid, and he did. He’s an All-Pro, Pro Bowl returner in this league, and that’s why he’s been doing it for so long.”
Duvernay got pushed out at the Vikings’ 40-yard line, which was actually in Santos’ range. He said he hit a 61-yard field goal in pregame warmups and felt great about the 54-yard field goal he made in the third quarter, which set the Bears’ franchise record for most 50-plus-yard field goals in a career (24).
Running back D’Andre Swift’s 7-yard run on third down made it a more reasonable 48-yard kick, but Santos’ earlier miss — in the same direction — was from 45 yards out.
“We made some big kicks early on in the game like this,” he said. “I’m in such a good rhythm, such good confidence going into that kick. And to miss it in any way is frustrating. Kind of a summary of how the season’s gone for me. Not a lot of things have gone my way. And I’m always gonna keep battling and keep fighting for opportunities like this to show what I wanna do for this team.”
Star Closer Hits Free Agent Market After a Rocky 2025
Closer Devin Williams has hit the free agent market after a turbulent season with the New York Yankees. He was one of the most reliable relievers in baseball prior to 2025, and though the surface numbers look bad, the numbers under the surface proved Williams was much better than what met the eye this season.
Devin Williams is One of the Bigger Question Marks in Free Agency
Williams’ Career
Williams, 30, debuted in 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers and rose through the ranks in the bullpen. He began as a setup man behind closer Josh Hader, and when Hader was traded to the Padres at the 2022 trade deadline, Williams took over the ninth inning. From July 2022 through the end of the 2024 season, Williams collected 65 saves while posting a combined ERA of 1.59. Though the performance was good in Milwaukee, Williams struggled with some injuries.
2025 Campaign
In December of 2024, the Brewers traded Williams to the Yankees. New York was looking to stabilize the ninth inning after Clay Holmes departed in free agency. The trade did not go as planned. From Opening Day, where he faced his former team, to his last outing, Williams did not have his best season. He often looked overmatched and nervous on the mound, especially at the start of the season. New York can be an unforgiving place if you let it be, but Williams did not.
After losing his closer’s job in May, Williams transitioned to the eighth inning. He excelled in that role, with an opponent’s OPS of .470, though the ERA was still high at 4.64. He moved back to the ninth inning for two months and was a bit better than in the early season. After faltering again towards the end of July, the Yankees made David Bednar the full-time closer.
Williams still had a somewhat solid season in New York, and a deeper look at his underlying metrics shows he was much better than many realized. Even with occasional command lapses, he continued to dominate contact; opponents posted a wOBA in the low-.220s against him, with an xwOBA that was even sharper, reflecting how rarely hitters squared him up. His elite changeup remained one of baseball’s most unhittable pitches, driving strong strikeout rates and consistently weak contact. While his ERA hovered higher than expected at times, his FIP and expected stats painted the picture of a reliever still performing at an All-Star level—one whose raw stuff and peripherals suggested that any surface-level volatility overstated his struggles.
Williams’ Contract Projection
Devin Williams enters free agency as one of the most dominant late-inning relievers in baseball, and his contract is expected to reflect that. Despite missing time with injuries and carrying some volatility inherent to relievers, he has consistently posted elite strikeout rates, microscopic ERAs, and some of the most deceptive stuff in baseball. His changeup — the famed “Airbender” — remains one of the highest-whiff pitches in the sport, and his underlying metrics (FIP, xERA, xwOBA) continue to support frontline bullpen value. Given the recent market for closers, like Josh Hader, Williams is projected to command a deal in the four-year, $60–68 million range. Williams could also get a deal with opt-out or escalator clauses with a contender. A shorter, higher-AAV contract (three years, $48–54 million) is also possible if teams view his workload history cautiously.
When it comes to suitors, several playoff hopefuls profile as ideal fits for Williams. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies both value swing-and-miss bullpen arms and have shown a willingness to spend on high-impact relievers. The Dodgers and Williams have already reported mutual interest. A return to the Yankees could make sense for both sides, but Williams would need to commit to being a setup man. The Toronto Blue Jays are also in the market for a closer and should have the payroll to spend.
