First it was defensive end D.J. Wonnum, who had a pivotal blocked field goal against the Green Bay Packers in Week 7. Then it was punter Jack Fox, who mixed distance and pinpoint work (three punts downed inside the 20-yard line) in Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings to win the award.
After going 4-for-4 on field goals in Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, with makes from 28, 40, 33 and 43 yards out, and making his lone extra point attempt, kicker Jake Bates has made it three straight Detroit Lions to win NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
The Lions struggled to get much of anything going against a Dolphins' defense that really brought it, as head coach Dan Campbell seemed to foresee on the latter front. So Bates' proficiency was critical, and it ultimately made a huge difference in a tightly-contested win.
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After oddly struggling last season, Bates worked tirelessly during the offseason to get used to a shorter distance from the ball as he starts his approach on field goals and extra points.
Being one yard closer to the ball when he moves toward kicks has made miles of difference for Bates so far this season. His lone missed kick thus far came when he literally kicked Fox's non-holding hand on a field goal attempt that hit the left upright in Week 8. You can see Fox shake his right hand in the clip below, like it was contacted.
To clarify, it looks like Bates actually KICKED Fox’s hand. pic.twitter.com/mEuRXWmBo9
— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) November 5, 2026
Bad snaps happen. Sometimes the hold is imperfect, to throw off the kicker's timing or a kick's trajectory (laces out, Dan!). Sometimes uncontrollable wind and weather play a role in a miss. Sometimes, the kicker just flat-out strikes a kick poorly, because nobody's perfect. Sometimes, when everything else is fine, the opposition makes an exemplary play to block a kick.
The holder laying his non-holding hand down inches away from where he should've, and that much different than where how he has surely done so countless times before, has to be a new one when it comes to a reason a kick was missed. Without that, Bates would be perfect through eight games this season.
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It would be a shame if Bates' only missed kick of the season were to end up happening on such a fluke thing. So let's sort of hope he misses one other, in a non-critical situation that isn't costly somewhere down the road. Maybe a long attempt late in a first half?, as Campbell says "bleep it, let's let Bates try one here."
In any case, the Lions have now won three straight NFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards. Can someone make it four straight in Week 10, over in Germany against the New England Patriots? It would most likely be a repeat winner (Fox or Bates), but it would surely be some sort of record if it happened.
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