Bills kicker Tyler Bass returned from a season lost to pelvis and hip issues and went 3-for-4 on field goals for Buffalo, including a 33-yarder that capped the opening drive.
The miss from 45 yards will draw attention, but the fact that he is healthy and kicking in a game setting is the bigger story.
Bass made his first live appearance since missing all of 2025 with a sports hernia injury, logging the 33-yard field goal in the first quarter, the extra point after Coleman’s touchdown, and later drilled kicks from 46 and 29 yards. The missed 44-yard attempt was wide right concluding a possession led by Kyle Allen.
The miss was notable because the Bills did not bring in any real competition for Bass in the offseason. They have backed him publicly, but the shadow of Matt Prater looms from last season when the replacement vet made 23 of 25 field goals counting the postseason last year.
Bass will now aim to re-establish his reliability.
“It was good,” head coach Joe Brady said to the press about Bass’s first game back after the Bills got the win.
The endorsement from his head coach is consistent with Brady’s outlook and attitude, yet his belief and the front office’s belief that Bass will return to consistent form are evident on and off the field.
The HC also knows Bass has the right mentality in self examination following his first game back.
“He’s going to want the one kick back, but I’ve said this before, you’re never going to see me go up to him and have to say anything,” Brady added. “And next time we go out there, I knew he was going to make it. I was pleased to see him out on the football field kicking with us and having some confidence with it.”
The kicker has endured and overcome different obstacles over the course of his young career, and appears to be on track to do so yet again.
He contextualized the process succinctly to WGRZ while answering a question postgame.
“The more you’re in there, you just build confidence.”
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills’ Joe Brady finds positive in Tyler Bass miss vs. Panthers
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire | USA TODAY Network
