One of the more concerning stories emerging from the Detroit Lions' 41-34 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was yet another field goal miss from Jake Bates. This miss came from 43 yards out in the first quarter, and even though Bates didn't miss again, it was clear that his blunder cost the Lions some key momentum.
Bates had been one of the few locks that Detroit fans could count on to show up each and every week. A season ago, he missed only three field goals, making 89.7% of his field goals and 95.5% of extra points. While the latter number has remained high this season (95.7%), Bates has watched his field goal percentage take a concerning dive over the last two weeks.
Jakes Bates Is Trending Towards Concerning Territory
Including Sunday's loss, Bates' field-goal success rate has dropped to 77.8%, which includes only going 11-of-17 (64.7%) from beyond the 40-yard line. No matter how you look at it, that's disappointing, given that he nailed 81.3% of his kicks from that distance last season.
With the state of Detroit's defense, it is clear that for the Lions to find a way back into the playoff field, they are going to have to be perfect offensively. This includes being able to rely on Bates to consistently deliver in any reasonable situation, as Detroit could do a season ago.
Bates' late-season concerns are something that the Lions simply cannot afford if they are going to run the table and force their way back into the playoff conversation. Bates being unreliable puts even more pressure on an offense that is already carrying an unfair load. The last thing head coach Dan Campbell needs is for his kicker to torpedo the team's playoff dreams because of an errant attempt.
Needless to say, the pressure will be on Bates moving forward. After all, it was only in December 2023 when the Lions waived Riley Patterson and replaced him with Michael Badgley to end the season. What's interesting is that Patterson's FG% (88.9%) is actually better than Bates' when the former was given his walking papers, leaving time to tell if Detroit has a similar shake-up in mind.
For Bates, it is hard to tell if this is simply an off-season or if last year was the outlier. Not having a larger sample size from the kicker makes it difficult to judge just how alarmed fans should be heading into Week 16. Regardless, there is no denying that Bates isn't delivering up to expectations and has become an ongoing concern.