Orchard Park, N.Y. -- The redemption story in sports has played out many times on the big screen.
Fan favorites include the underdog story of "Rudy" or the team triumph in "Remember the Titans." Many great moments in sports are born out of struggle.
Few Buffalo Bills players have struggled as much as kicker Tyler Bass in 2024.
The missed field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs back in January was one of the reasons the Bills were bounced from last season's playoffs. The doubt that missed kick created within the fan base hovered over Bass all offseason and into training camp.
Every missed kick in practice and then in the games once the season kicked off brought the ire of the Bills Mafia. Bills coach Sean McDermott has been asked about his confidence in Bass at least a half-dozen times since his team reported for camp. Every time he was asked, McDermott responded the same way - with confidence.
That belief was rewarded on Sunday when Bass drilled a perfectly placed ball to hit a 61-yard, game-winning field goal to lift the Bills to their fourth straight win. The scene after the kick was straight out of a movie. Teammates flooded the field to embrace Bass, who was emotional in the locker room after the game when McDermott handed him the game ball.
"It means everything," Bass said. "Was just focused on right here, right now, the present and being patient with everything, man. You're gonna go through ups and downs, but just continue to put your best foot forward."
The Bills have maintained their belief in Bass throughout his struggles, but that didn't stop general manager Brandon Beane from bringing in competition two weeks ago after Bass missed a 47-yard field goal and an extra point in a close, 23-20 win over the New York Jets. Buffalo signed kicker Lucas Havrisik to their practice squad, putting Bass on notice.
McDermott said that Bass knows he has to miss those important kicks. The former fifth-round pick responded by making all his kicks over the next two games. So Buffalo released Havrisik on Thursday before Sunday's game against the Dolphins.
Bass hit a 40-yard and 47-yard field goal and seemed to put his struggles behind him finally. Then he missed a crucial extra point and banged one in off the left upright after the following Bills' touchdown. When Bass was sent out for the game-winning 61-yard attempt with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Bills fans and McDermott could only pray.
"I was a fan watching," McDermott said. "Here's a young man that has been going through it and the journey that he's been on week to week, the questions that have been asked of him, of me, just in terms of him having to field -- it's natural, it's the business we're in. I think it's a great example of mental toughness. ... I think that says a lot about who he is."
In the locker room after the game, Bass shed tears as he accepted the game ball. He told his teammates what they meant to him and how their beliefs helped him push through the struggle.
Bills long snapper Reid Ferguson has been with Bass for five seasons and has watched the kicker maintain his composure despite questions and challenges this season.
Ferguson was still trying to catch his breath in the chaotic aftermath of the win, but the word he kept using to explain how Bass has responded to the adversity was resilient.
"You couldn't write this story any better after the last couple weeks," he said. "Signing a guy, we had an extra guy here competing for a couple weeks, and it's just a testament to T. Bass and how he handles his business and how he goes about his business, and I think we'll look back as just a bump in the road."
After the Chiefs playoff game last season, he removed many social media accounts because fans had been so harsh with him, including making threats. But Bass never lost his passion for the game throughout this season's turmoil.
"Just kept reminding myself that I love this, I love the sport," Bass said. "This is what I've dreamed of and when I was out there, I honestly wasn't thinking about anything. Just went through my process and trusted my preparation. And that was it."
McDermott said Bass is a great example of perseverance.
"Here's a player that was under the microscope pretty darn hard," he said. "We missed the extra point. And he was going to have to make a kick later. And he made it in a convincing fashion. This game is as much mental as it is physical, and sometimes even more mental. And I couldn't be more proud of him and what he did today."
Bass said his teammates' support this season has lifted him.
"It's why you play the game, you play it for your teammates," he said. "The fact that they've had my back since day one. I'd do anything for them, and I'm gonna have their back as long as my career is here. ... We're close, we have a bond, and we're willing to put it all out there for each other."