Cairo Santos further secures Bears’ kicking job with 3-for-3 day vs. Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bears coach Matt Nagy won’t come out and say it, but it’s obvious from the way he talks that he feels more sure of kicker Cairo Santos than he ever has of Eddy Pineiro.

Flash back to a year ago, when Nagy eschewed some long field goals to go for it on fourth down. Now listen to what he says about Santos making a 55-yarder just before halftime of the Bears’ 23-16 victory Sunday against the Panthers.

‘‘From him being a kicker in Kansas City when I was there for those years . . . I always had a lot of confidence in him,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘Never once did I ever think about the kick being made or the kick being missed.

‘‘I’ll be honest with you: I’m really in that mode right now with him. I know that. That 55-yarder, it didn’t shock me that he hit it.’’

Santos was the best thing about the Bears’ offense — yes, technically he’s on special teams, not offense — as he went 3-for-3 on field goals on a day when the team eked out 261 total yards. There have been five NFL games this season in which a team won despite having that little offense, and two belong to the Bears.

So as quarterback Nick Foles floats the idea that the Bears will have to keep winning ugly, Santos is essential. Offenses that have to claw for points can ill afford to let them slip away on missed field goals.

And if Santos keeps making them, there’s no way the Bears will go back to Pineiro. He is on injured reserve with a groin injury, but even if he was healthy, the Bears wouldn’t change kickers right now.

Santos has made 10 of 12 field goals, with his only misses coming from 46 and 50 yards, and is 12-for-12 on extra points. Pineiro was 23-for-28 on field goals and made 27 of 29 extra points last season.

Santos made 84% of his field goals with the Chiefs in 2014-16, when Nagy was their offensive coordinator, then dropped to 69% in the next three seasons while bouncing around the league until the Bears signed him in the preseason.