Last season, the Lions went for it on 4th down 40 times, second-highest in the league. During the same season, they also employed kicker Michael Badgley. He would only attempt SEVEN field goals all year en route to the team’s 12-5 finish.

So, why is their signing of Kicker Jake Bates a big deal?

While it’s hard to think of how much better last season could have gone for the Lions, the bitter taste of defeat still looms in Detroit. They were only two quarters away from the Super Bowl. They even had a 17-point lead against San Francisco in the same game!

In the second-half, Head Coach Dan Campbell would attempt two 4th down conversions, desperately trying to hold onto a lead the 49ers were SURGING for (and would eventually take). These two attempts (a 43-yarder and 48-yarder) would’ve easily been in field goal range… IF Michael Badgley wasn’t the team’s kicker!

That’s where Jake Bates comes in.

Hindsight is 20/20, but if Dan Campbell had a kicker with Bates’ ability, the game might have gone a little different for the Lions. The 31-34 loss might look a little more like a 37-31 win IF Bates were a uniformed player (and everything else went exactly the same).

Bates was a college soccer player for two years at Central Arkansas before turning to football in 2020. After finishing his collegiate career at Arkansas, he would sign with the Texans as an Undrafted Free Agent. He would be released, then deciding to play in the UFL.

A little foreshadowing? Jake Bates kicked a 64-yard game-winning field goal… twice. Where did these kicks take place?

None other than the home of the Detroit Lions, Ford Field!

A 64-yard field goal in the NFL would tie him with Matt Prater for the second-longest field goal ever made.

While the Arkansas man is still untested in the NFL, there’s no doubt he can boom it. Detroit fans hope he has the chance to do so. Dan Campbell went for it on 4th down, the second-most last year.

Notoriously known as “Dan Gamble”, will he put faith into Bates this upcoming season when it matters most?

Besides just that, could a kicker really be the last piece of the Detroit Lion’s Super Bowl puzzle? Only time will tell.