What Bills HC Sean McDermott said about Tyler Bass following Week 4 miss

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott spoke about kicker Tyler Bass following his 48-yard miss against the Baltimore Ravens.

Kyle Silagyi | Sep 30, 2024

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Another week, another conversation about Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass.

This is becoming a concerning constant in Western New York, as the veteran’s struggles have carried over from one season into another. He made just 82.8% of his kicks throughout the 2023 season (22nd amongst kickers with 25 or more field goal attempts), his struggles most prominently rearing their head in the postseason when he missed two kicks in the Bills’ Wild Card round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and another in their Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs; his last missed kick of the year was a 44-yard attempt that would have tied the game with under two minutes remaining.

His summer was one of peaks and valleys, and his inconsistent play has continued into the 2024 campaign as he’s made six of eight field goal attempts through four games. He’s had a few impressive makes (namely his 50-yard field goal against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4), but it’s his misses that will be more significantly highlighted given his persisting woes; he missed a 45-yard kick in a no-pressure situation in Week 2 before failing to convert on a 48-yard fourth-quarter attempt in Baltimore that would have brought the score within two possessions.

The Bills have long expressed confidence in Bass as their kicker amidst his struggles, this despite working out two kickers following his Week 2 miss. Head coach Sean McDermott again told reporters about his faith in Bass following Buffalo’s Week 4 loss, stating that the veteran will learn from his mistakes.

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“We are confident in Tyler,” McDermott said. “He made a good kick earlier in the game. Does he need to make that kick? Absolutely. He’ll continue to work on those. We’ve got a lot of areas to improve on, that being one of them. Like I said, we fly back, we’re starting to work on them right away.”

Bass was once one of the league’s most consistent kickers, nailing over 87% of his kicks in both 2021 and 2022. This prompted Buffalo’s brass to give him a four-year, $21 million extension ahead of the 2023 season, a deal that’s financially difficult to get out of at this juncture; his contract is perhaps what’s keeping him in Orchard Park at this time, but whether the team makes an additional move at kicker in the coming days or weeks will be something to monitor.

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