ORCHARD PARK, NY — Sean McDermott walked up to his seat in front of the media with one thing at the top of his mind. It was all about kicker Tyler Bass — the man of the hour — who nailed a 61-yard go-ahead field goal with just five seconds remaining against the Dolphins.
“What a story, man. What a story,” McDermott proudly said following his team’s thrilling 30-27 victory. “I think it’s a great example of mental toughness. I think it’s a great example of perseverance, resilience for young kids out there. Here’s a player that was under the microscope pretty darn hard. We brought a player in here to compete with him midseason, and he didn’t back down. I think that says a lot about who he is.”
Bass, who had missed the late game-tying kick against the Chiefs in the divisional round last season and had been struggling with consistency the entire summer, into the regular season, and even in the Dolphins game, knocked nearly a year’s worth of frustration off with a kick so clean it might have been good from 70.
The Dolphins had managed to tie the game with under two minutes to go and seemed on the verge two separate times of stopping the Bills shy of even attempting a field goal. On one of those third downs, almost poetically, longtime Bills safety turned Dolphin Jordan Poyer took a critical personal foul to give the Bills new life.
Especially after having missed an extra point attempt earlier in the game and dinking his next extra point attempt off the left upright and in, the nerves from many fans about Bass festered. The good thing about the Bills’ successful season is that they haven’t had to need a late, game-winning field goal before Week 9. The bad thing is they didn’t know how it would go after the postseason loss to Kansas City.
But after he struck the ball, there wasn’t any doubt. Bass helped propel the Bills to their 7-2 record. The kicker was visibly emotional in the team’s postgame huddle in the locker room after McDermott awarded him the game ball.
This moment is EVERYTHING. 🥹#MIAvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/cHTI4qO1Lh
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 3, 2024
“He’s our guy,” franchise quarterback Josh Allen declared after the game, admitting he got emotional after the game on his kicker’s behalf.
Bass was a little more pragmatic.
“This means a lot,” Bass said. “But at the end of the day, I’m only as good as my next kick. So, take the confidence with it and keep it moving.”
Here’s what stood out on Sunday in the Bills’ win, starting with what this moment could mean for Bass.
Why Sunday was more for Tyler Bass than just the big kick
The 61-yard make from Bass is undoubtedly the headlining event of the game and his season, but from what has ailed him the most since the end of last year, it was a strong day for the Bills’ kicker. Starting with his 44-yard miss against the Chiefs in the postseason, the weak area for Bass throughout the spring, summer and now fall has been on kicks of 40 or more yards. Although he missed a pair of extra point attempts throughout the first six games, that wasn’t the primary concern. After all, he was perfect on nine field goal attempts from under 40 yards. It was more about whether they could trust Bass to make a kick from a further distance without hesitation in a regular setting. That certainly extended to trust with the game on the line. The Bills were forced to act against the Jets when Bass missed a 47-yard attempt that could have given the Bills a 23-17 lead. That brought his season percentage of kicks from 40-plus down to 50 percent, making only three of six. The Bills promptly signed kicker Lucas Havrisik to the practice squad, only to release him a few days before the Dolphins game.
TYLER BASS!!!!!!!!!!!!
📺: @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/0YUMp5a5qI
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 3, 2024
Not only did Bass nail the game-winner from 61, but he also added a 40-yard make in the first quarter and another key hit from 49 at the tail end of the first half. That doubled his total from 40-plus and brought his make percentage up to 67 percent. He’s also now 2-of-2 from 50 yards or more. The Bills have always held out hope that Bass would turn things around, both because they believe in him and because they invested heavily in him with a lucrative contract extension. The team has to be hoping that this game against the Dolphins is the seminal moment that propels him forward for the rest of the season and, frankly, for the rest of his Bills career.
Josh Allen’s numbers didn’t wow against the Dolphins but he played a patient game. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
Josh Allen stays patient and shines
Although his 25-of-39, 235-yard stat line won’t read like one of his best of the season, the context of Allen’s game was mightily impressive, given how the Dolphins defended him for much of the game. The Dolphins played with a heavy emphasis on zone defense, forcing Allen and the Bills to play the game with patience. At least early on in the game, the Dolphins did not want to allow the Bills to burn them with big plays the same way Allen and his receivers had done the last two weeks. Early in his career, staying patient is what Allen struggled with, but over the last two years, the quarterback has grown a lot in that area. They thrived when up against a zone-heavy approach early in 2024, only for teams to pivot and start sending more pressure at Allen to make the then-struggling boundary receivers beat them. As Allen and the offense conquered that beast, it was back to zone, and Allen nickeled and dimed them well.
Whether short throws to Khalil Shakir or dump-down attempts to Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and the running backs, Allen took exactly what the Dolphins gave him and waited for them to make a mistake. And they did, in a big way. They fell asleep in coverage and allowed running back Ray Davis to get wide open on one side of the field, giving him ample room for a runway, and he exploded past two would-be tacklers to get to the end zone. Allen didn’t push the ball far down the field the rest of the time often. He was mainly efficient, making the right reads and, most importantly, keeping the ball out of harm’s way with so many defenders hanging around to try to make him force one through. His lone “mistake” was a throw that hit rookie receiver Keon Coleman in the hands, bounced off his chest and into the arms of a Dolphins defender for an interception. The play should have been a touchdown, and instead, it zapped the Bills of a key first-half scoring chance. Regardless, Allen didn’t try to force the issue as the game evolved.
Perhaps most impressively, Allen had to go through the game without Amari Cooper in the lineup. Cooper was inactive with a wrist injury and McDermott made it sound like they had expected him to be able to play Sunday. The pre-Cooper Bills showed some serious flaws in the passing offense that forced the team to trade for him, which has certainly helped the overall environment. However, without him, Allen turned to the likes of Mack Hollins and even Quintin Morris in dire moments. It was the type of effort where Allen helped to steal a win in a game that most other teams would have lost, all because he was patient and never tried to force the issue.
GO DEEPER
Bills’ Allen, Bass lead 30-27 win over Dolphins: Takeaways
Over the last two games, the Bills helped unlock fourth-year defensive end Greg Rousseau by putting him exclusively at left defensive end. It resulted in 15 pressures over the last two games and an outstanding pressure rate of 25 percent. Rousseau, who played most of his college career and first two NFL years on the left side, did a split role in 2023 and in the first six weeks of 2024. The shift for Rousseau coincided with the end of Von Miller’s suspension, which meant the Bills had a decision to make. Early in the year, when Miller would enter the game on obvious passing downs, Rousseau would shift to right defensive end, allowing Miller to play on the left.
Even with all of those positive moments for Rousseau against the Titans and Seahawks, the Bills still chose Miller on the left side when both were in the game, pushing Rousseau over to the right side. Rousseau took 16 of his 44 snaps on the right side, and 13 of those came when Miller was on the field. The starkest example came in the first quarter when two plays after Rousseau collected a sack rushing from the left side on a nice move past the right tackle, they immediately moved him to the right side on the ensuing third down. The defense had several issues on Sunday, including their run defense and limiting plays of 10 yards or more once again. However, especially with a pass rush that was lacking all game and registered only two hits on Tua Tagovailoa, Rousseau is the best they have and could be the future of that position beyond 2025. That makes how they handle their reps at those spots on critical third downs something to monitor moving forward.
Bills MVP: K Tyler Bass — This really couldn’t go anywhere else after the game-winner, setting a record for the longest make in franchise history.
Bills LVP: The run defense and pass rush — Split honors for this distinction. Whether it was De’Von Achane or Raheem Mostert, the Dolphins were consistently on the front foot on offense and nearly stole the win in Orchard Park. And then, without the threat of much pass rush pressure, Tagovailoa completed all but three of his passes. This is a game where Allen was the deciding factor when the defense didn’t have its best stuff.
Up next: The 7-2 Bills head to Indianapolis to take on the Colts on Sunday.
(Top photo of Tyler Bass: Mark Konezny / Imagn Images)