When the greatest quarterback of all-time is giving advice on how to deal with difficult weather conditions, you tend to listen.
However, as Cairo Santos prepares for a Divisional Round game against the LA Rams on Sunday, the Chicago Bears kicker has admitted he’s doing things his way.
Despite the tips from the legendary signal caller, which swiftly went viral on social media, Santos revealed he’s keeping to the tactics which got him to where he is.
Santos, 34, said: ‘So I watched that video and it was awesome to see Tom give the quarterback perspective. It’s something that I wasn’t aware of – that quarterbacks thought like that – and so it was brilliant to hear him.
‘But as a specialist, it’s about what we do to help the ball fight windy conditions. You know, punters lower their drops – similar to what Tom was saying the quarterback does – so the nose doesn’t get caught in the wind.
‘But, in field goal kicking, I lean the ball forward towards the goal post more so the trajectory comes out more of like a piercing ball flight. And it’s something that I’ve been doing for years here’.
Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos is gearing up for a Divisional Round game against the Rams
Santos admitted that he’s dismissed the advice of Tom Brady as part of his preparations
Brady had previously suggested that signal callers want to keep a ‘neutral plane’ to make accurate passes in windy conditions.
Evidently though, Santos’ own methods paid dividends throughout the 2025 season.
In the regular season alone, Santos completed 25 out of 30 field goal attempts – with two of those misses coming when he attempted a kick over 50 yards out.
Similarly, in their only post-season game thus far, Santos went three-for-three against the Green Bay Packers and it’s fair to say the conditions weren’t great then either.
Lifting the lid on his technique when facing adverse weather conditions, Santos revealed: I actually watched my first game at Soldier Field back in 2020.
‘I watched Graham Gano, a kicker for the Giants, kick field goals and he was leaning the ball so far forward. It was a windy day. I was like: ‘How’s he kicking like this?’
‘It was just beautiful to watch his routine and it wasn’t like the highest or the longest kicks, but it went through, and that’s when I was like: ‘That’s how you put balls through the uprights in Chicago’.
‘And I talked to him and he confirmed that’s why he did it and it helped. It’s helped me kick in this weather,’ Santos revealed.
So, there you have it. The Brazilian star will call upon the advice of Scottish placekicker Gano instead of the tips provided by legendary QB Brady last week.
Brady took the time to explain how windy conditions affect passing accuracy for quarterbacks
Santos had to overcome adverse weather conditions during their win over the Packers
During FOX Sports’ coverage of the NFC Wild Card game between the 49ers and the Eagles on Sunday, Brady delved into the subtle tweaks he made when playing in the wind.
‘This is kind of like a neutral plane. This is when the plane is slightly down. When you’re throwing it into the wind, it has to be neutral.
‘If the point of the ball is up, any wind friction is going to push that ball up over the top,’ the seven-time Super Bowl winner explained during the broadcast.
‘So, as a quarterback, you don’t really like that ‘U’ throw underneath, because naturally that’s going to point the tip of the ball up. You like more of a ‘C’ or an inverse, a reverse ‘C’. That’s how you kind of control the point of the ball.
‘And then you can kind of just snap it off as you throw it. But in these windy conditions, you can’t be underneath the ball. There’s too much wind surface of the ball to knock it off its path.’
Santos, meanwhile, also delved into the intricacies of his kicking routine and how, even in training, he will meticulously run through each step – without fail.
He said: ‘I think there needs to be a great amount of consistency in everything that you do. From the moment my routine starts – when I start running up from the sideline, to spotting the ball on the field, then picking my targets, taking my steps – I try to control and repeat every step of it.
‘Even on the practice field when there’s just a snapper, holder and myself – I go through that process to be able to repeat everything.
‘Because then, once you get into your routine, you can just go down a checklist of things’.
In the regular season alone, Santos completed 25 out of 30 field goal attempts
Santos will be hoping that his routine doesn’t let him down on Sunday night when the Bears take on the LA Rams in their Divisional Round game.
Chicago might have the home-field advantage on the night but the Rams are a terrifying prospect for any team to face after their impressive regular season.
MVP favorite Matthew Stafford will lead the team at quarterback, while NFL receptions leader Puka Nacua also poses a major threat for the Bears.
However, under the guidance of head coach Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams has put in some imperious displays at quarterback and will look to do so again on Sunday.
Meanwhile, for the last four years, the Bears have been making an impact in communities across the UK, giving them the opportunity to try or experience American football for the first time.
Since launching in 2022, the Bears have delivered programs across 11 UK regions, from Exeter to Edinburgh.
Bears NFL Girls Flag leagues operate in London, Birmingham, and Manchester, targeting girls aged 12–14.
