Buffalo Bills’ kicker Tyler Bass has decided to step away from social media, specifically quitting Instagram and Twitter.
This drastic move comes after the young kicker faced death threats following his crucial miss on a game-tying field goal in the recent loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bass took full responsibility for the missed kick, admitting, “Ultimately, you can put it on me. I got to do a better job of keeping my target. I’ve been playing here long enough to know you got to do that… I feel terrible. I love this team, and this one hurts bad. Yeah, I’ve got to do a better job. Totally on me.”
#Bills kicker Tyler Bass “I got to be better.”
(h/t @CameronWolfe)pic.twitter.com/loOl4miFpc https://t.co/pTgvPpNdiq
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 22, 2024
With just 1:47 left on the clock, as the Bills trailed 27-24 at home in Highmark Stadium.
Bass’s missed 44-yard field goal attempt went wide right, leading to the Chiefs’ victory by the same score.
This loss means the Chiefs advance to the AFC championship game against the Baltimore Ravens, while it marks the third consecutive season that the Bills have been eliminated in the divisional round.
Bass’s potential game-tying field goal is drawing comparisons to the infamous “Wide Right” kick in Bills history.
The “Wide Right” kick is a big moment in Buffalo Bills’ history. It happened in Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991, when the Bills played against the New York Giants in Tampa, Florida. The Bills, led by their quarterback Jim Kelly, were trying to win their first-ever Super Bowl.
With only eight seconds left in the game, the Bills were losing 20-19. They had a chance to win with a 47-yard field goal by their kicker, Scott Norwood. If he made it, the Bills would have won the Super Bowl.
But the kick went wide to the right, missing the goal posts, and the Giants won 20-19. This miss became famous as the “Wide Right” kick and marked a tough time for the Bills. They ended up losing in the Super Bowl for the next three years in a row (Super Bowls XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII).
Tyler Bass, selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, had gained attention for his impressive kicking abilities during his early career. He signed a four-year, $3.475 million contract with the Bills in May 2020 and beat out the incumbent kicker in the shortened training camp to secure the starting position.
Throughout his career, Bass achieved notable milestones, including breaking franchise records for points in a season, extra points attempted and made, and making three field goals longer than 50 yards in a single game.
His consistency earned him accolades, such as being named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month multiple times.
