Detroit Lions fans shower Jake Bates with love after game-winning FG

by Junna Base November 11, 2024

The Detroit Lions found another way to pull out a win from nothing, and kicker Jake Bates proved to be a hero again in the final moments.

The Lions recovered from a 23-7 halftime deficit by shutting out the Houston Texans in the second half and creating enough scoring opportunities to score 19 points and claim a 26-23 victory. The Lions scored two touchdowns to get within three points, then handed the game to the turbo-charged right leg of Bates. With 5:01 left, Bates hit a 58-yard field goal into the right upright to tie the game, and after the Texans missed a 58-yarder of their own, he made a 52nd as time expired -Yard kick gives the Lions the win. The game-winning kick was right on the left side but snuck in and secured the win.

Bates, who joined the Lions from the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League, now has two game-winning kicks in the Honolulu Blue and is now a perfect 14-for-14 on field goal attempts in the NFL. He’s no stranger to these big moments, with a long list of game-winners for the Panthers and Lions, and now he’s done it at the NFL stadium closest to his hometown of Tomball, Texas – just over 30 miles north of Houston .

The second-half surge saved the Lions from a tough loss that would have been fueled by Jared Goff’s five career-high interceptions. But it wasn’t until late that the offense found a recipe for its seventh straight win, the franchise’s longest winning streak since 1995, to maintain first place in the NFC.

Here’s how Lions fans and the NFL world reacted to Bates’ wild and exciting Sunday Night Football win and game-winning kick online.

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