By CHUCK POLLOCK, Senior Sports Columnist, Wellsville Sun, Olean Star
November 4, 2024
Talk about vindication.
It’s been a tough few months for Tyler Bass.
The Bills’ 27-year-old place-kicker has amassed a solid resume in his 4½ seasons, however, late last year he got a bit shaky.
He made 24-of-29 field goals but, came the playoffs, he missed three of five attempts but, most critically, he pulled a 44-yarder tying attempt wide with 1:47 remaining against eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City in a 27-24 loss in the divisional round at Highmark Stadium.
Then, this season, he was inconsistent starting in training camp though fairly accurate on field goals (12-of-15). But two misses on extra points concerned coach Sean McDermott enough that he brought in a free agent to challenge Bass in an off-day kicking contest.
The Georgia Southern alumnus won, but McDermott added Lucas Havrisik to the practice squad, just in case, and didn’t release him until past this week.
BUT SUNDAY afternoon in Orchard Park, having retained his job, Bass celebrated by missing a third extra point and a later PAT attempt grazed an upright before bouncing through.
But that lousy start morphed into one of the most dramatic field goals in franchise history.
Tied at 27-27 with the Dolphins and seconds remaining, Buffalo faced a 4th-and-7 at the Miami 44-yard line and, almost illogically, McDermott sent Bass out to try a 61-yard field goal … two yards longer than the franchise-record 59-yarder Steve Christie kicked in 1993.
Bass’ attempt was perfect and would have been good from 65 yards.
It lifted Buffalo to a 30-27 victory and a 7-2 record that put the Bills four games up on the Jets (3-6) in the AFC East and effectively five on the Dolphins (2-6) who were swept .
AFTER the game, quarterback Josh Allen, who threw three touchdown passes in the victory (to wideout Mack Hollins, running back Ray Davis and tight end Quintin Morris), allowed, “I’m just so proud of him. I got kind of emotional in my post-game speech … just the trials and tribulations he’s gone through this year and, obviously, missing one early in the day and hit the pole on another and he easily have put it in the tank … (then) a 61-yard field goal to win a game against a division rival.
“That’s what stories are made of … I love him and I respect him so much and everybody in that locker room is so happy for him”
Fact is, Bass made all three of his field goal attempts against the Dolphins, making him 18-of-21 on three-pointers this season.
Of the game-winner McDermott noted, “That doesn’t happen by itself, I have to give credit where credit is due … in addition to TBass, Sam (Martin, holder) and Reid (Ferguson, long-snapper), the guys up front that were blocking for him … just a big-time kick for us.”
But McDermott deserves credit too.
Had Bass missed, though only five seconds remained, Miami would have taken over on its own 49 and a quick sideline pass might have given the Dolphins a shot at its own long-range field goal.
BUT McDERMOTT defended his decision.
“I happened to get a glance of TBass during warmups,” he said. “I thought he had a pretty good warmup especially from deep and we had a little bit of a wind in that direction. I trust him … and he came through.”
McDermott added, “Here’s a young man who’s been going through it and the journey he’s been on, week-to-week. The questions that have been asked of him and me. It’s natural, it’s the business we’re in.”
He continued, “It’s a great example of mental toughness, a great example of perseverance and for a young kid that’s tough with his play under a microscope. We (even) brought a player in here to compete with him in midseason and he didn’t back down and that says a lot about who he is.
“This journey will continue but it also speaks to our locker room … even in today’s game he missed an extra point and had to make a kick later and he did it in convincing fashion. This game is as much mental as it is physical and sometimes even more mental. I’m even more proud of what he did today.”
IN HIS post-game press conference, Bass still seemed dazed.
“This means everything,” he said of the kick. “(It’s) very emotional, I haven’t really processed it yet. I’ve put in a lot of work and focused on right here, right now, the present and being patient with everything.
“You go through ups and downs and try to put your best foot forward. And we did it today. I love this sport, this is what I dreamed of.”
Of the kick itself, Bass recalled, “When I was out there, I wasn’t really thinking about anything. I hit a couple from 58 (in warmups) … (though) I didn’t want to overkick in pregame. But I knew if it came down to it, I had the leg for it.”
And then he went out and proved it.
NOTES FROM the Bills’ 30-27 victory over Miami on Tyler Bass’s franchise-record 61-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in regulation.
— The win was the 80th of McDermott’s career in his eighth season including playoffs. He joins a short list of NFL head coaches with that number of victories in eight years.
— On the 1-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen to Mack Hollins, the one-time Dolphins receiver beat former Bills safety Jordan Poyer.
Late in the game, Poyer was called for unnecessary roughness on a helmet-to-helmet hit on Buffalo wideout Keon Coleman, a 15-yard penalty that helped set up the game-winning field goal.
That’s the second time in two games Poyer has been whistled for that violation against his former team this season. Back in Game 2, he was flagged for the same penalty against a Buffalo receiver.
That was never his reputation with the Browns or Bills but now, at age 33, those plays almost seem a concession to his loss of speed.
— The Bills’ lone turnover came when a Allen pass went through the hands of wideout Keon Coleman, off his shoulder pads and was picked off by cornerback Jalen Ramsey, his first of the season.
— Buffalo’s only takeaway occurred when nickel back Taron Johnson stripped Dolphins running back Raheem Modstert of the ball, then recovered the fumble. Miami leads the NFL in fumbles including seven over the past three games.
— A hold by guard O’Cyrus Torrence wiped out an impressive 20-yard scoring run by Allen late in the first half.
— Buffalo’s only sack of Tagovailoa was recorded by edge rusher Greg Rousseau who tackled the Miami QB as he mishandled a shotgun snap and fell to the turf. He has 4½ on the season.
— The Dolphins lone sack of Allen went to linebacker Chop Robinson, his first.
— Bills’ linebacker Dorian Williams had a game-high 12 tackles with seven solos while safeties Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin each had 10 tackles, the latter with a game-high eight solos.
— Inactive for the Bills were wide receiver Amari Cooper (wrist), fullback/special teamer Reggie Gilliam (hip), cornerback Christian Benford (wrist), safety Mike Edwards, linebacker Nicholas Morrow, offensive tackle Will Clapp and defensive tackle Zion Logue.
Hollins took Cooper’s spot and Kaiir Elam Benford’s.
— Miami’s inactives included three defensive starters Zack Sieler (tackle), Javon Holland (safety) and Kader Kohou (cornerback) plus backup corner Storm Duck.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
