Matt Eberflus finally admits Cairo Santos deserves blame for recent field goal struggles

Over the past two weeks, the Chicago Bears have endured some of the same issues which have plagued them all year long and specifically during this current 5-game losing streak.

But, one glaring problem in these two games has come when the special teams unit takes the field. No, we're not talking about the muffed punt which led to a Minnesota Vikings touchdown on Sunday. Deandre Carter is a completely different story.

Forget the fact that there are multiple aspects of the Bears' special teams unit currently struggling. That's a totally separate topic and one that should end with special teams coordinator Richard Hightower receiving his walking papers.

No, this is all about the recent gaffes from kicker Cairo Santos, who had previously been one of the league's best kickers over the past few seasons.

On the final play against the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, Santos had what would have been the game-winning field goal blocked. The Bears lost their 11th in a row to the Packers, and in heartbreaking fashion.

Then, again in Week 12, the Bears saw the exact same thing take place. For the second-straight field goal attempt, Santos had a kick blocked. The Vikings took a page out of the Packers' book and took advantage of a weak left side.

On Monday morning, in his appearance on ESPN 1000's Kap & J. Hood, head coach Matt Eberflus was asked about Santos' recent struggles and the two blocks in a row.

Eberflus started out by saying that there are two aspects which need to be addressed, the first being up front. He noted that the blocking needs to be tighter, which is true.

However, he then went on to talk about what everyone else has been mentioning lately: Santos' low trajectory.

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“You want to get the ball up as high as possible,” Eberflus admitted.

And there it is. For over a week now, the narrative has been that Santos does, indeed, kick the ball with a lower trajectory. Eventually, it would catch up to him. Eventually, opposing special teams coordinators would latch onto the trend ... and they did.

Does this mean Santos is going to have to re-think how he kicks, going forward? That's a dangerous proposition and could significantly impact his effectiveness, to be frank.

But the fact is, something needs to change. Realistically, multiple things need to change, the first being that the blocking does have to be better. It has to be tighter.

Can Santos adjust his form in a way that won't hamper his accuracy? That remains to be seen.

Count this as just one of several current problems facing this team as they continue on through their brutal second-half stretch.