Bates Kicks Game-Winner as Lions Defeat Texans
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by Michigan Panthers
Former Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates has a tendency of attracting an audience and creating a reaction. Whether that’s going viral last spring after nailing a 64-yard field goal to give the Panthers their first win in the UFL or getting a plane full of passengers to shush a flight attendant right before a game-winning, 52-yard field goal on Sunday Night Football. He’s got a way of inciting a reaction.
And you can add waking up his former head coach’s grandkids to the list.
“We were babysitting our grandkids during the game, and they had gone to bed,” said Michigan Panthers head coach Mike Nolan. “I really think this was the first time I’ve ever done this, but I kind of exploded. After the 58-yarder, I just blew out a big loud yell. Then I was like, oh, ‘that wasn't good.’ As a matter of fact, I look at my wife and she says, ‘you’re going to wake the kids.’ I didn’t think they could hear me. And, then the kids, they came up and said, ‘how come we heard you yelling?”
The 58-yard field goal was just the beginning for Bates as he was called on the next possession to win the game for Detroit. This time from 52 yards out. Really giving the Lions, and their fans, something to cheer loudly for.
“It's really exciting to watch him,” Nolan said. “I'm happy for him for a lot of reasons. And, you know, some people you root for because they're also good kids. He's a good kid with a lot of humility and works really hard. It's important to him and he's pretty well grounded.”
Bates wasn’t busy early in the game, attempting and making only one extra point in the first half, as the Lions trailed the Texans 23-7. Detroit scored the lone touchdown of the third quarter, followed up with a Bates extra point, and opened the final stanza with another touchdown and Bates extra point.
The Lions still trailed the Texans by 23-20 late in the fourth quarter when Bates was truly brought into action. With just over five minutes left in the game, the Detroit offense stalled, and Bates snuck the 58-yard attempt past the right upright, tying the game. That kick is now tied for the third-longest field goal in Lions history.
Following a Texans missed field goal from 58 yards, the Lions took over and gave Bates the chance to play hero. The Houston native, who was cut by the Texans ahead of the 2023 season, made the walk-off game-winner, sneaking this attempt just inside the left upright.
“Kick a 58-yarder to tie it and then a 52 to win it,” Nolan said. “My goodness. All within four game minutes of each other. Everybody's watching and said, oh, he kicked the winning field goal. No. The kid kicked two! If he doesn’t make the first kick, there wouldn't have been a second.”
Bates’ efforts for the Lions in his hometown earned him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season.
The former Arkansas Razorback is currently perfect on the season, sitting 14-for-14. He is the only kicker who has appeared in more than three games to have a perfect conversion rate on field goals this season. His 58-yard field goal is the seventh longest in the NFL this year, while his 74 total points have him tied for 11th and his 14 made field goals are tied for 19th.
Last season with the Panthers, Bates finished 17-of-22, including three kicks that were from 60-plus yards, including the 64-yard field hie drilled to open the season and clinch a victory for Michigan. At Ford Field, he finished 10-of-11 during the 2024 UFL season, only missing his final kick at home, which was a 51-yarder against Memphis in Week 8.
Bates and the Lions return to Ford Field this weekend, hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.