Schrager's Cheat Sheet: Jake Bates' improbable rise from brick salesman to star kicker
Lions' Magical 2024
The Lions aren't supposed to win games like Sunday night's miracle 26-23 victory over the Houston Texans .Jared Goff threw five interceptions.
The team trailed by 16 points at the half on the road.
Their kicker from the United Football League nailed two field goals from more than 50 yards in the final stanza.
But they did. And sometimes, it's just one of those years.
The Lions used to lose those games. The stats from Sunday's win are mind-boggling. It's the largest comeback win for Detroit in 10 years. The Lions were just the second team in NFL history to throw five interceptions in a game and be able to erase a 15-point deficit. Goff was just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw five interceptions on the road and win a game. One of the others was a guy named Frankie Sinkwich, and that was in 1944.
The interceptions were the story of the first half, and the comeback was spectacular. But Jake Bates has become a bona fide weapon as well. Bates hit his first game-winning field goal of his career on Sunday, but it came alongside a wild, 58-yard game-tying make minutes earlier. Bates's story is pretty emblematic of this Lions team as a whole. Overlooked, considered done a few years ago, and now cracking skulls — he may as well be the face of the 2024 team.
When kicker Michael Badgley went down with a preseason injury, the Lions turned to an unlikely name. Bates' story is unique. He played college soccer at Arkansas State but transferred to Texas State , where he only did kickoffs. In that 2020 Texas State season, someone else — a guy named Seth Keller — handled field goals. In two stops at college, \ Bates didn't attempt a single field goal. He then got a shot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and didn't stick. He got a sniff from the Texans last year but was cut early in training camp.
Bates took the long road. In December, while the rest of the NFL was watching the Chiefs play the Raiders in Arrowhead, Bates signed a professional football contract ... with the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League. He, then, went on to dominate in that league. With multiple 60-plus yard field goals, NFL scouts were watching. In June, he signed a contract with the Lions. And when Badgley went down, Bates won the competition. It was a long shot, without the crazy college factoids. In fact, Bates was one of only two UFL players to make an NFL 53-man roster, out of 77 who participated in the NFL's 2024 preseason. After his game-winner against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6, Bates said the following: "I was working as a brick salesman in Houston. I thought the dream was dead. ... I thought football was done, so I had to move on and do something else with my life. Luckily, the Lord had something else in store."
Bates belongs on the Lions. Scrappy, headstrong, and able to persevere.
After Sunday's ridiculous win, Goff told reporters: "Every team gets punched in the mouth, and the good ones respond."
The Lions are more than merely good.
Who is Jesse Minter?
Last year, John Harbaugh's Ravens were on their way to the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and as Lamar Jackson was winning the MVP Award, their young defensive coordinator was getting looks from NFL teams seeking their next head coach. That 38-year-old defensive wizard was Mike MacDonald, and he's now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks .
Well, the other Harbaugh brother is having quite a first season in Los Angeles, and his young hot-shot defensive coordinator is getting lots of head coaching buzz now, too.
Meet 41-year-old, first-year DC Jesse Minter, whose Chargers defense is — by most measures — the best in the league. The Chargers are the fourth team since 1990 to allow 20 or fewer points in each of their first nine games. If they do it again next week against the Cincinnati Bengals , they'll be just the second team in the last 34 years to do so besides the Super Bowl XXV champion New York Giants .
It's not just Joey Bosa and Derwin James, either. Lineback Daiyan Henley had 10 tackles and a sack against the Titans in Week 10. Bud Dupree — yes, that Bud Dupree — was flying all over the field and had a sack. Elijah Molden has three interceptions on the season.
Minter's unit has been outstanding. His path to this point is eerily similar to MacDonald's. Just as MacDonald cut his teeth under John Harbaugh in Baltimore and got his first big opportunity back at Michigan as brother Jim's DC, Minter did the same. From 2017 to 2020, Minter served as the assistant DB's coach in Baltimore. After a stint with Vanderbilt , he got the call and made the move to Ann Arbor, where he was the architect of a national title-winning defense in 2023.
There will be plenty of job openings in 2025. Minter's just 41, is beloved by the players, and is going to get interviews. Chargers fans — enjoy him while you can.
Bills' Big Decisions
Come Week 11, all eyes will be on Sunday's Bills-Chiefs battle in Buffalo. The approach to the game for Buffalo, though, is one of great significance. See, Buffalo is beat up on offense. Dalton Kincaid and Amari Cooper both are going to be key players down the stretch for the Bills. Both players are injured. Kincaid left the Bills' Week 10 win in Indianapolis with a knee injury, while Cooper has been out since October 27th.
The showdown with the Chiefs, seemingly, would be the biggest game of the Bills' regular season.
And yet, the team has a bye during Week 12. Do you rush Kincaid and Cooper back? Do you rest them? These decisions are where coaches — and players — make the big bucks. A win over Kansas City would narrow things in the AFC standings, and obviously, the Bills are looking to keep it rolling, but resting their top two receiving options for 14 more days might be the better — and wiser — play long-term.
Sean McDermott's one of the best coaches in the game, and both Kincaid and Cooper are gamers. That's the storyline I'm looking at as we head towards yet another epic Chiefs-Bills showdown.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Jalen Hurts has 10 rushing touchdowns this season and is the first quarterback in NFL history to reach the mark in four consecutive seasons.
