Tyler Bass brings the swag and may already be Buffalo Bills best kicker in their history

ORCHARD PARK – With just under four minutes to play in the first quarter last Sunday and the Buffalo Bills facing fourth-and-9 from the Miami 39, coach Sean McDermott didn’t hesitate for a second.

Even with an offense as prolific as his, fourth-and-9 was a tough ask, so he sent Tyler Bass onto the field to attempt a 57-yard field goal. McDermott knew full well that was a tough ask, too, but he also knew the likelihood was that his uber-talented second-year kicker would make the kick.

So did Bass, and he rewarded McDermott’s faith by making it with room to spare.

“Going into the game, warming up I hit a 56-yarder into the wind and with the wind I hit a 58 in warmups,” Bass said. “It felt good if it ever came to the point where we needed a 57. At that time we had a little wind. I’m just grateful for coach to give me the opportunity to go out there. It means a lot that he trusts me.”

How could McDermott not?

Tyler Bass earns AFC honors for October

Thursday, Bass was named AFC special teams player of the month for October for a four-game performance against Houston, Kansas City, Tennessee and Miami that included a perfect 10-for-10 on field goals and 13-for-13 on extra points, 43 points in all.

For the season he’s now 16 of 17 on field goals with the only miss coming from 53 yards when he was wide right on the final play of the first half in Week 2 at Miami.

And for his career Bass is now 44 of 51 (86.3%) on field goals, and a remarkable 80 of 82 on extra points (97.6%), the type of number you used to see when extra points were from 20 yards out, but somewhat rare since the line was moved back to 33 yards several years ago.

Quite simply, Bass is already one of the best kickers in the NFL, and as sixth-round draft picks go, which is what Bass was in 2020, he’s the best sixth-round pick the Bills have ever made.

From 2020: Bills take Georgia Southern kicker Tyler Bass in 6th round to challenge Stephen Hauschka

Crazy, you say? Going back to the start of the franchise in 1960, the only sixth-round picks who started games in multiple seasons for the Bills were tight end Nick O’Leary (2015 draft), linebacker Keith Ellison (2006), offensive linemen Marcus Spriggs (1997), Dusty Zeigler (1996) and Corbin Lacina (1993), and linebacker John Skorupan (1973).

Any of those guys bring back fond memories? Didn’t think so.

Tyler Bass 'brings a little attitude and swagger'

Back in training camp, special teams coach Heath Farwell was asked to reflect on Bass’ outstanding rookie year when he scored 141 points to set a new single-season team scoring record, plus put up 26 points in three playoff games.

“Tyler Bass, from the moment I met him, I just loved what he was about,” said Farwell of the kicker who certainly brings a little attitude and swagger to the position. “He’s ultra-talented and his mindset is unbelievable. Every day, his approach, he wants to get better. He’s super competitive, and the way he finished the (2020) season, it was no surprise to me at all, because that’s his mindset every day. I can’t say enough great things about him. We’re expecting a really, really good year from him.”

And to date, that’s what the Bills are getting.

Bass has not been asked to make too many pressure kicks, not in a season in which the Bills have had an average margin of victory of 26 points in their five wins. And in the two losses to Pittsburgh and Tennessee, he was 6-for-6 on field goals, 3-for-3 on conversions.

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In terms of a pressure kick, the only one he’s really had this season came last week against the Dolphins. Miami had just cut Buffalo’s lead to 17-11 early in the fourth quarter, way too close for comfort in a game the Bills should have been winning handily.

Josh Allen then directed a 15-play drive that chewed up 6:10, but it died at the 21, so Bass came in with 3:29 left looking to give the Bills a two-score lead, and he calmly drilled a 39-yarder which essentially put the game away.

'T-Bass' is not your normal field goal kicker

“He’s unbelievable,” Allen said. “He works extremely hard. He’s a guy that we can count on. I mean, he’s got a lot of confidence in himself and when you got a kicker that has confidence in himself, everybody can feel it and everybody can see it. Guys can tell, he’s got it.”

What his teammates love about Bass, beyond his talent, is the way he carries himself. Bass is the kind of guy who, if McDermott would let him, would run down and cover kicks and make tackles as opposed to just kicking the ball.

“I love the fact that he’s an athlete, he’s a football player,” McDermott said with a smile. “He’s got the one ... I still haven’t figured out what one strip of eye black does on a cloudy day, but if it puts him in his space then yeah, I’ll take it. He’s a phenomenal athlete and the guys respect the heck out of him.”

Safety Micah Hyde joked that, “I don’t know what he does all day, I don’t know what those specialists do all day when we are at work, but whatever he’s doing, he’s got to keep doing it.”

Because he has attempted only 51 field goals, Bass does not qualify for the NFL’s all-time field goal accuracy list. But for perspective, where he sits right now at 86.3% would rank tied for ninth in league history with former Patriots great Stephen Gostkowski, while Baltimore’s Justin Tucker continues to lead the way at 90.7%.

“T-Bass, he’s so slim, his stature doesn’t seem like big, super strong, but when it comes to having the leg, I think he can kick from like 60-something, whatever,” said wide receiver Stefon Diggs. “T-Bass brings a little swag, too. He’s not your normal field goal kicker.”

What he is may be the best placekicker the Bills have ever had.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Tyler Bass brings the swag, may be Buffalo Bills best placekicker ever