On SI All-NFC North Team: Blocked kicks costly for Cairo Santos

Perhaps it wasn't as much of a snub when both Santos and Taylor think they could have performed better.

"Now Cairo broke a record and Tory did, but they're both still irritated that they didn't finish as best as we could, in terms of things that they can get better at," special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. "And in terms of more kicks, more punts, more things that can help the team win. So they're irritated that they didn't play, even though they played good by some people's standards, like we we're chasing greatness.

'So I like that about them."

For Santos, it might have been the simple fact he had field goals blocked on successive attempts against two divisional opponents that proved the tipping point to keeping him from being voted best divisional kicker.

It definitely wasn't because of a lack of consistency or even leg strength.

Santos might have had those two kicks blocked against the Packers and Vikings but he also made plenty. The claims by divisional opponents that a flaw in his kicking was spotted seemed nothing more than head games as he stood in and delivered the game-winning 51-yarder in the cold at Lambeau Field to end the season.

Santos' 89.3% career accuracy is the best for any kicker in Bears history and his 2024 season included a team-record eight field goals from 50 yards or longer. Those came on nine attempts.

Expect more in the future from the other Bears leg. Punter Tory Taylor's rookie year included a team-record 47.7-yard average while punting in those more harsh conditions.

Taylor, who was second in voting for top divisional punter, had 34 downed inside the 20-yard line, fourth highest total in the NFL last year and third most in Bears history.

It's here where Taylor will be heard from most in the future. His practice ability to spin punts out of bounds or dead inside the 5 have barely been used yet.

The Bears might not need trickery in the future to break long returns with Devin Duvernay on board for kicks and/or punts. He was third in voting for divisional return man but a return to 2021-22 form would no doubt put him in the top position.

Duvernay never had a major injury in Baltimore after two Pro Bowl years as a return man. He just was victimized by nagging smaller injuries one season and went to Jacksonville in free agency, where his blocking support was questionable.

The Bears have spent the past year fortifying their blocking on special teams and Duvernay could be expected to add to his career 12.0-yard average on punt returns and 24.9 for kicks.

Here were the specialists voted into top spots on the All-NFC North team.

Kicker Jake Bates, Detroit Lions

Bates came out of the UFL to kick and solve Detroit's problems that had been in place sinc Matt Prater left. Did he deserve to be the top divisional field goal kicker? He missed one less field goal (3) than Santos, but Santos actually only missed two. He had two blocked. He didn't block for the kicks, he just tried them.

"More than anything, he seems to give the Lions a sense of stability that's been missing at the kicker position ever since Prater left," wrote Detroit Lions On SI's John Maakaron. "Bates hit several clutch kicks, including game-winners against Minnesota, Houston and Green Bay."

Bates missed two of his three kicks head to head against the Bears and Santos. 

Punter Jack Fox, Detroit Lions

The numbers Fox puts up will make it hard for Taylor to ever get into a top spot for his position in the division unless he does finally get more opportunities to kill punts inside the 10. Fox averaged a league-high 51.0 yards last year and is the NFL all-time leader in career yardage average at 48.8. Last season, though, that average came with fewer punts and that's easier to do.

Returner Keisean Nixon, Green Bay Packers

Nixon had very little experience on returns when the Packers first signed him, according to Bill Huber of Green Bay Packers On SI. Nixon last year became the fourth returner to earn back-to-back All-Pro seasons. He may have benefited from a season when kick return averages were down because of the rule change, as he had a 26.1-yard average, but was one of only two return men with enough returns to qualify for the average yards returned title.

Nixon made six kickoff returns of 50-plus yards and 19 of 30-plus yards the last two seasons.