Santos was named player of the month for the special NFC teams in December. In four games, he made nine field goals without losing, helping the Bears to record three consecutive wins over Texans, Vikings and Jaguars, putting them in a position to win a wild card spot in the playoffs.
Santos was named the player of the NFC special teams of the week after making 31, 55 and 31 yard field goals without losing in the 23-16 victory over the Panthers last October 18, in Carolina. His big 55-yard success with: 02 remaining in the first half was a long career and gave the Bears a 13-6 lead at halftime.
A week earlier, Santos had led Bears to a 20-19 victory over the eventual Super Bowl Buccaneers champion by drilling a 38-yard field goal with 1:13 left in a Thursday night game at Soldier Field.
Santos stood out early in his career, converting 84.8 percent of his field goal attempts (89 of 105) during his first four seasons in the NFL with the 2014-17 Chiefs. But after aggravating a groin injury in a Week 3 win in 2017, he was placed on reserve due to injury and then released by Kansas City.
Santos signed with Bears at the end of the season. He appeared in two games, making 1 of 2 pitches, but he injured his groin again and fell into the injured reserve. He kicked for the Rams and Buccaneers in 2018 and the Titans in 2019 before joining the Bears in 2020.
With Eddy Piñeiro off the pitch because of a groin injury last summer, Santos was promoted from the training team to the active squad before the season opened against Lions in Detroit. Santos made the most of his opportunity, arguably producing the best kicker season in Bears history.