Countdown to Training Camp: Tyler Bass is 14th Most Valuable Bill
In a close battle for the Bills' kicking job with veteran Stephen Hauschka, Tyler Bass prevailed in 2020, most likely because the team had just invested a sixth-round draft pick to bring him in.
Then he struggled out of the gate, missing two of his first four and five of his first 17 field-goal attempts. This, after an unimpressive senior season at Georgia Southern in which he made just 20 of 28 attempts.
But the Bills stuck with him and their patience paid off with some encouraging consistency.
Bass didn't miss any field goals in his final seven regular-season games, then hit a 54-yarder with 8:08 remaining against Indianapolis to help lift the Bills to a 27-24 playoff victory.
That kick was the longest made by a rookie in NFL playoff history.
Had Bass not straightened out his kicks as the season wore on, coach Sean McDermott may not have had the confidence to have him attempt a field goal from such a long distance with so much on the line in the playoffs. A miss would have set up a short field for the Colts, who responded with a quick touchdown drive to set the final score.
“We hit one in warmups, so we felt pretty good about it," Bass said. "Just went out, didn’t try to overswing, just put good contact on the ball and let it play out. "I didn’t really try to think too much of it. It was just another kick, but I had a little bit of excitement going out and just trusted the process and we executed."
Added coach Sean McDermott: "It was awesome. Just full trust in him, full trust in our field goal unit and their execution. I’ve got a lot of confidence in those guys."
Although Bass missed twice against Baltimore in the divisional round the next week, the Bills' defense dominated en route to a 17-3 victory that put them in the AFC Championship game at Kansas City, where Bass was 4-for-4 in his team's biggest game.
Now they are moving forward without another kicker on the roster as of July 13th to challenge him in training camp.
With the job essentially guaranteed unless disaster strikes, Bass slots in as 14th in our day-by-day unveiling of the 30 projected Most Valuable Bills for 2021.
The next hurdle for Bass will be handling the pressure of kicking in packed stadiums following last season's COVID-19 aberration.
But it looks like Bass is capable of overcoming any obstacle.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
