For the second time in nine career NFL games, and the second time in the last four games, Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 10.
If Bates hadn't won the award for Week 10, it would've been a massive snub like Aidan Hutchinson's snub for NFC Defensive Player of the Week after he had 4.5 sacks in Week 2. As the Lions completed their epic second half comeback to beat the Houston Texans, Bates made a 58-yard field goal to tie the game at 23 and followed with 52-yard game-winner within the last 5:01 of the game.
“We’re getting some pretty long kicks here,” head coach Dan Campbell said after the game. “I don’t particularly like to do that all the time, but sometimes you need it when you get in a game like that. He’s answered the bell.”
As a Houston-area native who was also cut by the Texans in 2023, there were extra layers of personal sweetness to Bates' coming through in the clutch like he did.
JAKE. BATES. CALLED. GAME. #DETvsHOU | 📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/fSa4NBaZsP
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 11, 2024
Bates also won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after he made the game-winning field goal against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7. He is now 14-for-14 on field goals this season, including 6-for-6 from 40-plus yards out. The only blemish on his stat line so far is a missed extra point (32-for-33).
Bates is already in some heady company, joining Jason Hanson and Matt Prater as the only Lions' kickers to win Special Teams Player of the Week multiple times.
.@Lions K Jake Bates has won his second NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award this season.
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) November 13, 2024
He joins Jason Hanson (12) and Matt Prater (7) as the only Lions kickers to win the award multiple times.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/Eex0IjgH4w
Jake Bates adds to the Lions' award haul for this season
Not only is this Bates' second Player of the Week award this season, it's the sixth time in 10 weeks (nine games for them) that a Lions' player has won a Player of the Week award. And as previously mentioned, if should be seven Player of the Week awards in nine games due to Hutchinson's egregious snub from Week 2 (though the Lions losing the game surely hurt him).
Week 3: P Jack Fox
Week 4: QB Jared Goff
Week 6: S Brian Branch
Week 7: Bates
Week 8: WR/PR Kalif Raymond
Week 10: Bates
Hutchinson won NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September, and Goff won NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. So as they've gone 8-1 to start the season and won seven games in a row, the Lions are collecting quite a haul of weekly and monthly awards for individual performances.