Bills Central

Is Tyler Bass a problem for the Bills at the bye week? The Numbers Never Lie

Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass has been a hot-button topic in 2024, but his stats say he's right where he should be.

Greg Vorse

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Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass was a man under fire as the 2024 season began, and rightfully so. The five-year vet was coming off a lackluster end to the 2023 season headlined by his missed 51-yard and 39-yard field goals in a Week 12 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Things got worse in the playoffs, where the Georgia Southern product was two-of-five, including a miss in the 27-24 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Those two games were hard for Bills Mafia to swallow. Couple that with a shaky training camp and preseason, and you had many asking, "Do the Bills have an expensive kicker problem?" The 2024 stats say, not really.

Let's start with his contract as a baseline of where you should expect him to stack up compared to the rest of the league. Bass' deal has an average annual value of $5.1 million, per Over The Cap; that ranks 11th for NFL kickers. He is fully guaranteed for $9.41 million, per OTC. That places him at eighth in the league. He's hovering around the top 10 in compensation, which means it is reasonable to expect him to perform within the upper third of the league when compared to his contemporaries.

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I'll open with the best number for Bass this season. He is perfect from 50 or more yards, hitting all three of his attempts. He's one of just six kickers to make all their attempts from over 50 yards. For his career, he has made 67% of kicks over 50 yards, including going four-for-six last year, so 2024 is actually his best year yet in this area.

The first concerning area is kicks between 40 to 49 yards. Bass has made five of eight kicks from that range, which admittedly isn't great. The 62.5% clip places him 23rd in the league. It's also the worst he's been at that range during his five years in Buffalo. He's also missed four extra points, this after entering the season with five missed PATs throughout his entire career.

Tyler Bas
Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Getting a little bit closer to the goalposts, Bass once again regains his form. This season, he is a perfect 12-for-12 from inside 40 yards. He is one of 20 starting kickers in the league to not miss at that distance. For his career, he is 73 of 80 inside the 40. Again, 2024 is an uptick from his first four years.

It's all well and good to make kicks when the pressure isn't on, but how has Bass looked in clutch moments? In the first game of the year, a 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Bass knocked down a 39-yard field goal to extend the lead to six late in the fourth quarter. Not necessarily the most clutch of moments, but a good make. In the loss to the Houston Texans, he nailed a 33-yarder to tie the game at 20-20 with 3:18 left on the clock. The Bills lost, but Bass did his job. But what about game-winners? Well, I'm glad you asked.

Tyler Bass
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Bass has been asked to knock down two true game-winners in 2024. He was called upon to make a 22-yard chip shot against the New York Jets with 3:43 to play in Week 16. Bass made the kick and the Bills won 23-20. One could argue that any professional kicker should make it from inside 25 yards, but the point remains: in his first opportunity to win a game for his team, Bass delivered.

The truly great moment this season for Bass and the Bills was the game-winner against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. The game was tied 27-27 with five seconds left when a 61-yard, franchise-record-setting kick went through the uprights to secure the division rivalry victory for Buffalo.

Has Bass been automatic? No. Has he been an above-average kicker who showed some clutch genes so far in 2024? Yes. All that said, we all know it won't matter until he does it in the playoffs.

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Greg Vorse
GREG VORSE

Greg Vorse joined SI to cover the Bills in July of 2024. Greg has spent two decades covering Buffalo football, first as a sports reporter for WJET (ABC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2007, then, starting in the summer of 2007, for Time Warner/Spectrum News. He was an award-winning broadcaster during his time on television for stories on the high school, college, and professional ranks. Greg has also covered the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during his broadcasting and journalism careers. Aside from a love of athletic competition, Greg, his wife, and their two children enjoy vacationing and changing the stereotypes of pit bull terriers.

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