Not long ago, 18 months to be exact, Jake Bates was a salesman for ACME Brick in Houston. Now, he is kicking game-winning field goals in the NFL for the Detroit Lions.
Bates kicked two crucial field goals in the last five minutes of the Lions’ game against the C.J. Stroud-led Houston Texans. With four seconds left in the game, and in only the ninth NFL game of his career, the 25-year-old Bates calmly jogged onto his hometown Texans’ field to kick a 52-yard game-winning field goal.
The game clock expired just as Bates’ kick squeezed past the left upright, giving the Lions their eighth win of the season and capping off a thrilling 16-point second half comeback victory.
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Immediately following the game, Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Melissa Stark asked Bates what it meant to him to kick that winning field goal.
“Just recently,” she said, “you were a brick salesman. You thought you were out of football. So what does this mean to you to come back and do this in your hometown area?”
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“I think it just shows, you know, how good the Lord is,” Bates responded. “He’s so faithful. And man, my story is—if anything, I just hope people can see Jesus through my story.”
“And I mean, that’s what I think I’m here to do, is not make or miss or be a good kicker or a bad kicker, but spread the love of Jesus,” he added. “So hopefully I’m able to do that on the stage I’m given.”
Through nine games, Bates has yet to miss a field goal. He is a perfect 14-14 for the season.
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Last month, Bates kicked a 44-yard game-winning field goal in the final 15 seconds of the Lions’ game against their division rival the Minnesota Vikings.
Following the game, Bates told reporters how he deals with the pressure of taking the field for a kick that might mean the difference between winning and losing.
