Kickers have started the 2024 NFL season historically well. For the first few weeks of the season, it seemed like any attempt under 60-yards was all but a guarantee to go in. But it seems like kickers may be in for some wicked regression to the mean if Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass’ attempt on Monday Night Football is any indication.
Lining up for a routine 40-yard field goal in the first half against the New York Jets, Bass’ kick went completely off frame, and fast.
ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth was astounded at just how crooked the kick got. “No chance. That was just weird,” a perplexed Joe Buck commented.
“I don’t think the wind had anything to do with that one,” his partner Troy Aikman chimed in.
“I’ve seen better kicks than that on College GameDay. What the heck was that?” Buck piled on as the game went to commercial.
For the uninitiated, Buck is referring to the student kicking contest that College GameDay has implemented in recent years. That contest has been on a bit of a hot streak recently, with students making the kick two weeks in a row.
Shanks happen to even the best kickers, and Bass’ bad day continued with another missed field goal in the third quarter. Unfortunately for the Bills’ kicker, Buck’s call was completely accurate, which probably makes it sting a bit more.
[ESPN]