The week leading into the Bears' trip to Las Vegas, Ben Johnson specifically challenged his special teams units.

Johnson envisioned special teams being a key factor in the game and told the group he was counting on them to deliver.

"During the week, he said he needed us in this game," kicker Cairo Santos told ChicagoBears.com. "When we are challenged by our head coach like that, that's because he knows the standard and what impact our special teams unit can have in a football game."

That challenge was laid out during the team meeting Monday, continued on by coordinator Richard Hightower throughout the week and carried over onto the practice field.

For Santos and the rest of the special teams unit, that means a bit of healthy pressure from Johnson.

"He's always watching," Santos said. "He's right behind me when I'm kicking my field goals. He's right behind Tory [Taylor] when he's punting. And he sometimes is chirping and challenging us.

"He's very intense and competitive, and I think we can only respond in the same way for him because that's what really drives his motor and it fits into how it drives our motors on special teams."

Santos said this group of special teamers thrives when the game depends on their success, and it showed against the Raiders.

From Santos going 4-of-4 on field goals — including two 50+-yarders — to Taylor pinning Las Vegas at their own 2-yard line with a perfect punt, to Daniel Hardy and Carl Jones recording tackles, to, of course, cornerback Josh Blackwell blocking the potential game-winning field goal, all phases of special teams delivered in Sunday's 25-24 win, resulting in a deserved postgame celebration.

"It's what coach says – we're addicted to that feeling," Santos said. "There's nothing like it — just celebrating with the team after the week of preparation and even talking about what kind of performance we needed to have, especially on special teams, to help the team in a road game like this. And in an environment where we had to go 2-2 before the bye.

"To set us up with the two-game winning streak into the bye is something that can create a lot of positive momentum for us. So it was a big, big win for us and just celebrating that with the team and everybody's achievements was awesome."

Sunday's performance felt like a culmination of the special teams' unit dedication to their preparation. In an interview with ChicagoBears.com, Hightower lauded how his group has been studying their opponents, bringing ideas to meetings and communicating at a high level.

Starting with Santos' perfect game, hitting field goals from 46, 43, 52 and 51 yards out, Hightower credited the entire field goal unit for clean operations as well as Santos for his steady veteran presence.

"He knew the team needed him and it is a football team," Hightower said. "The offense put us in position to make those kicks and Scott [Daly] and Tory with the snap, hold, kick operation, and then the protection unit was phenomenal. Our big boys, they never get any credit, but they did a great job all day.

"And Cairo is just a consummate pro. He's consistent and clutch when we need him to be. You can count on him."

Santos' final field goal, a 51-yarder, was a result of a complete sequence by the special teams.

With 3:43 left in the third quarter, Taylor delivered his best punt of the season — booting the ball 62 yards to the Las Vegas 2-yard line. A Raiders holding penalty on the kick, caused by linebacker D'Marco Jackson, moved the ball to the 1-yard line.

While Taylor executed his part of the punt perfectly by kicking the opposite way Raiders punt returner Tre Tucker ran, Hightower pointed to cornerback Jaylon Jones as the unsung hero of the play and the reason the Bears forced Las Vegas the start their next possession in the shadow of their end zone.

"Jaylon Jones, who was the left gunner on that play, he was being doubled and they pushed him out of bounds," Hightower said. "Well, the rule is, if you go out of bounds, you can't be first to touch it. So if you go back and look at that play, he went out of bounds. The referee throws his hat off. [Jones] knows the rule and he's pointing to J.O. (safety Jonathan Owens) to get the ball, if it somehow goes too far into the end zone.

"So that's just a heads up play by him because the penalty, if you touch that ball inside of the five, that ball is going to the 20-yard line."

The Bears defense took advantage of the field position, forcing a three-and-out and allowing for another opportunity to flip the field with the Raiders punt. Return specialist Devin Duvernay proceeded to do his part by returning the 60-yard punt from the Chicago 32 to the Las Vegas 49. After the offense stalled at the Raiders 33, Santos made his final field goal to cut the Bears' deficit to 21-19 with 11:43 to play.

Immediately after the field goal, however, Santos needed to be worked on by the training staff, which forced Taylor to execute his first NFL kickoff.

"Tory knew it right away, that he may have to go in there, and it's something we work on," Hightower said. "He's always prepared if we need him to do that and he's a consummate pro as well. And he was excited — that was his first NFL kickoff. So he filled in and did a good job for [Santos]. that was another example of his hard work paying off."

Just as Johnson prepared his team for last week, the defining play of the game came on special teams. With 38 seconds remaining and the Bears clinging to a 25-24 lead, the Raiders set up to attempt a 54-yard field goal.

As a 12-year pro, Santos is very familiar with Raiders kicker and fellow veteran Daniel Carlson. Santos knew Carlson could make that field goal attempt, and he remembers thinking right before the kick that the only way it would miss was if the Bears blocked it.

And that they did, as Blackwell flew off the edge and stretched headlong in front of the kick, getting his hand on the ball and sealing the win for the Bears.

"I believed in our unit that they can make a play," Santos said. "They've done it before. But to do it at the end of a game, it's so cool to see that come to life and celebrate like that. That's the only thing that could have saved us and it happened."

Hightower believed the unit had been close to blocking a kick through the first three games, and last week, he remembered Blackwell and safety Jaquan Brisker — who engaged with his blocker to shorten the distance Blackwell had to run around the edge — declare "they were going to make a huge play for us."

After the Bears offense lined up in victory formation for the game's final play, the team proceeded to celebrate on the field and in the locker room, where Santos and Blackwell were each handed game balls.

"[Johnson] wanted our special teams to help us win that game, and that was his vision before we ever started playing," Hightower said. "So we just carried out his orders. It was cool to see them deliver for him."

That feeling of walking off the field at Allegiant Stadium alongside his Bears teammates with a hard-earned victory is one Santos will never forget.

And he's the only player in that locker room who understood the how powerful that feeling is before Sunday.

In 2021, the Bears and Santos played at the then-brand new Allegiant Stadium, and coincidentally, relied heavily on special teams to close out the game. With just under three minutes left in the game, Santos made a 46-yard field goal to give the Bears an 8-point lead. Less than two minutes later, he drilled another FG from the same distance to ice the contest with 59 seconds remaining.

Santos remembers Bears fans traveled so well for that game that it seemed as though more than half the stadium donned navy and orange.

"Once I made that last 46-yarder late in the 4th quarter, they were out of the game at that point," Santos recalled. "Raiders fans were leaving and the Bears fans kept moving down closer to the sidelines and then they filled up the entire lower bowl. Just Bears fans."

All week, Santos thought about reliving that moment. He talked to Taylor, Daly, Hightower and assistant specialist coach Anthony Blevins — none of whom had played or coached in the stadium, about that feeling.

Slowly, but surely, Sunday's game unfolded in a way Santos thought only existed in his imagination. But as time expired, Santos looked up and saw that same flood of Bears fans rushing toward the tunnel.

"To be able to have that kind of same special teams impact in the game that resulted in the win, felt a little bit like a déjà vu," Santos said. "So, reliving that, as I was walking off the field, I just looked at the crowd and gave them a thank you.

"It was probably one of my best away memories, that feeling of Bears fans taking over Allegiant Stadium again."