Oct. 4, 2015; Cincinnati; Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos (5) reacts after kicking a field goal in the first half against the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. (AP Photo/Gary Landers)
Kicker Cairo Santos was dialed in Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
And that proved a good thing since he was only player scoring points for the Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium.
Santos, a second-year pro, established a team-record seven field goals in a single game, including two from 51 yards.
He also connected from 22, 40, 34, 40 and 29 yards, but Santos’ record-setting performance was for naught as the Bengals topped the Chiefs, 36-21.
“It’s always great to go out there and perform well and do your job,” Santos told reporters after the game. “But I think I would have happier if I kicked seven extra points and won the game instead of field goals.”
Nevertheless, going 7 of 7 on field goal attempts is an impressive feat despite the Chiefs’ third straight loss.
“It’s exciting to kick well,” Santos said. “Those long ones were into the wind, so it was kind of a tough day of kicking with the weather. We fought through and kicked well.”
Santos broke the record previously held by Ryan Succop, who originally set the record on Sept. 23, 2012. Santos supplanted Succop, who now kicks for the Tennessee Titans, in 2014 following a training camp and preseason battle.
Santos also kicked four field goals in the first half, which marked the third time in team history a kicker accomplished that feat (Nick Lowery on Sept. 20, 1993 and Lawrence Tynes on Nov. 27, 2005).
While he valued what was accomplished Sunday, Santos also appreciated two important members of the field goal unit that made the record possible.
“I give huge thanks to my holder Dustin (Colquitt),” Santos told reporters. “He is kind of like my caddy helping me with the wind, and (long snapper) James (Winchester) snapped the ball well and protected well, so those guys did a good job.”
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and The Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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