Lions kicker and Houston native Jake Bates hit a 58-yard field goal with five minutes left and a 52-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Texans in Houston on Sunday night. He can barely believe how fortunate he was to find himself in that position, and come through.
“It almost feels too scripted, too good to be true,” Bates said after the game.
But it was true, and the entire Lions’ sideline charged toward Bates as the final field goal sneaked inside the left upright with 0:00 on the clock. Bates said he’s never been the hero of a game that way before.
“I’ve never been hoisted like that. That was pretty cool,” Bates said.
Bates said the most important part of his mindset as he walked onto the field for the two big kicks was that he shouldn’t treat them any differently than he treats the long field goals he routinely makes in practice.
“Don’t change anything. Don’t make the moment any bigger than it needs to be. We practice so much,” Bates said.
The Lions identified Bates when he was kicking in Detroit’s Ford Field for the Michigan Panthers of the UFL this offseason. Bates has proven to be one of their most valuable offseason acquisitions.
