Bears kicker Cairo Santos made a 57-yard discipline purpose to finish the primary half. Had Sunday been a daily season recreation, the kick would have been the longest of his profession.
“I used to be joking with him, we in all probability didn’t want that many yards,” coach Ben Johnson mentioned. “We might have kicked it from backed up, the way in which he nailed that factor.”
Kicking in sizzling climate — the RealFeel temperature at kickoff was 100 levels — helped. So did the work he put in through the offseason.
Santos labored on distance kicks by happenstance — he and different kickers discovered a follow discipline in Jacksonville that didn’t have ample fencing behind both finish zone. They began kicking from deep to maintain the ball out of a pond on one finish and a highway within the different.
Booker cooks
Defensive finish Austin Booker had three sacks, the third of which was a strip-sack of Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers at his personal 3-yard line late within the third quarter.
Booker mentioned that when the rookie didn’t look to throw the ball away, he took two additional steps and tried to dislodge the ball.
Booker was one of many Bears’ major successes final preseason however totaled only one ½ sacks in 17 common season video games as a rookie.
“I really feel like I’m being extra constant than final yr,” he mentioned.
New look
One main change got here to Soldier Subject with little fanfare: the Bears painted their finish zone navy for the primary time in current reminiscence. The south finish zone is now navy with “Bears” painted in orange, whereas the north aspect has the phrase “Chicago” in orange. Each phrases are flanked by the NFL brand on the left and NFC brand on the precise.
The Bears used an identical design final yr after they performed at Tottenham Hotpsur Stadium in London. Soldier Subject’s finish zones, nonetheless, have been easy for years, with the identical present design placed on unpainted grass.
The Bears additionally painted a memorial for late Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer Steve McMichael on the 5-yard line on their very own sideline — a navy soccer along with his No. 76 inside — and wore an identical decal on their helmets. They debuted their Virginia McCaskey tribute patch for the primary time.
Notes
• Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (shoulder), working again Travis Homer (calf), cornerback Terell Smith (groin) and security Main Burns (knee) left the sport with accidents. Middle/guard Luke Newman, a sixth-round rookie, was put in concussion protocol.
• The NFL’s replay help system was expanded this season to assessment extra on-field penalties. It labored Sunday, when officers threw a facemask flag on a Kyle Monangai run however picked it up after replay exonerated the Dolphins.
• The introduced attendance was 43,537.
