Detroit Lions place kicker Jake Bates was called upon, for the first time in his career, in a late-game situation to firstly tie it and, secondly, hit a game-winner to propel the Lions to 8-1 on the season, as they beat the Houston Texans 26-23 on Sunday night. The ultimate crescendo to Bates weekend was being named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Bates had made 12-12 FG attempts on the season through the Lions eight games heading into Sunday Night Football against the team that released him on August 12, 2023. Down 23-20 with 5:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, Dan Campbell sent out his field goal unit to tie the game. Bates hit a 58-yard try, his career-long, as it sailed just inside the right upright. Just five minutes later, Bates would hear his name called again, this time to seal the win from 52 yards out, this time just inside of the left upright- in a kick that was heard high into the sky as a flight destined for Detroit’s Metro Airport erupted. Finishing the night sinking both field goal attempts, Bates is now a perfect 14-14 start to his NFL career as a placekicker through the team’s first nine games.
“Don’t worry about it, block everything out, do what you do. And he’s good about that, he really is. He’s pretty good about it; he gets away from everybody, and he can get in his own head in a good way and shut everything else out. I do feel like there’s something to him when you put him in a competitive setting, and he’s pretty good about that,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of the approach to trying to simulate game-like situations in practice. Bates spoke about his appreciation for the coaching staff’s approach following Sunday’s win, telling reporters, “This coaching staff has done a really good job going all the way back to camp of putting us in game-like situations and making practice as real as it can be.”
Following Sunday’s 58-yard FG, Bates holds the longest FG in Lions franchise history.