Buffalo Bills rookie kicker Tyler Bass had himself quite a day on Sunday against the New York Jets as he kicked eight field goals, made six, and ultimately led his team to an 18-10 AFC East victory.
The former Georgia Southern kicker missed kicks of 45 and 37 yards in the first and fourth quarter, respectively.
Bass also made field goals of 53, a career-high, 48, 46, 29, and 40 yards as he tied the Buffalo franchise record for most field goals in a game with six, which tied Steve Christie’s record from 1996.
Bass’ eight attempts also broke a franchise record for most field goal attempts in a game.
A Kicker’s Mentality
With the revolving door of kicker’s that most NFL team’s have, a kicker with confidence is something every coach looks for and Bass has no shortage of it.
After missing his first attempt from 45 yards, quite badly at that, Bass bounced back to make five more before missing his seventh attempt. His confidence never wavered.
“Coach always talks about character and it’s not really about how many you make, but about what you do after a miss after something goes wrong,” Bass said. “Anyone can handle stuff when things are easy, it’s just about when something goes wrong, it’s just about how you handle it. You don’t let it define you and you just trust everything that you’ve done in practice that week.”
Bass scored all 18 points for the Bills on Sunday and has scored a total of 54 points this season.
A Lot of Work Provides a Lot of Confidence
In his four year career at Georgia Southern, Bass never attempted more than five field goals in a game and never made more than four in a game. In fact, if you add up all of his attempts from his final five college football games, it would still be less than his total from Sunday’s game.
Bass said getting that type of work on Sunday, in his seventh NFL game, gives him a lot of confidence moving forward, even if there were a few hiccups along the way.
“It’s definitely a huge confidence boost and it helps get me more experience and being more comfortable out there,” Bass said. “It’s a good feeling to get out there, but it starts with my teammates who put me in a position to be out there. But yea, it’s definitely a good feeling.”
Before Sunday’s game, Bass had made six of his nine attempts so far this season and had only missed one extra point. He missed two field goals in Buffalo’s home opener against the Jets on Sept. 13.
The Story of Tyler Bass’ Eye Black
GettyTyler Bass celebrates his final field goal against the New York Jets.
Bass looks to do whatever he can to give himself a little extra “something” whether it’s a little extra confidence swagger. He’s willing to do whatever to make himself seem more like more than a kicker. Hence his eye black under just one eye.
Normally, football players go with eye black under both eyes, Bass had it under just one eye on Sunday. It was something he said started during his days in college.
“It’s just something I do and it makes me feel like more than a kicker at times,” Bass said. “My last year in college I did an “M” which was for my grandma. We were playing in an (FBC Mortage) Cure Bowl, which was about breast cancer. So kinda since then, I’ve used it and it kinda gives me a little extra confidence.”
With the lack of fans to get guys going on the sideline and give them a little extra juice, Bass was just looking for anything he could find and it seems like he found it on Sunday.
“I feel like it gives me a little extra swag, just a little something extra on game day,” Bass said. “We don’t have fans in the stadium, so you just have to find that little extra something to get you going.”
After his final field goal, he also showed the Jets a little something extra too.
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Tyler Bass Has Record Setting Game as Buffalo Bills Beat New York Jets