Tyler Bass Misses Super Bowl Shot: Do the Bills Dare Replace Their 28-Year-Old Kicker?

February 23, 2025
The Buffalo Bills were this close to their first Super Bowl in decades. Down by three, with 1:48 left in the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs, all eyes were on kicker Tyler Bass. A 44-yard field goal—routine for most NFL kickers—was all that stood between the Bills and a chance to punch their ticket to the big dance. But Bass hooked it wide left, the ball sailing helplessly into the cold Buffalo night. Chiefs 27, Bills 24. Game over. For the Bills Mafia, it wasn’t just a miss—it was Wide Right all over again.

This wasn’t the first shaky moment for Bass in the 2024-2025 season. The 28-year-old kicker, once a fan favorite for his clutch performances, has had an up-and-down year. His field goal percentage dropped to a concerning 82% (27/33), a noticeable dip from his career average of 87%. In critical games, the inconsistency stung even more—think back to the Week 14 loss against the Rams, where a missed 38-yarder could’ve tied the game. Social media erupted after the Chiefs miss, with X posts like “Bass needs to go NOW” and “Wide Right 2.0—cut him!” trending among furious Bills fans.

So, what’s the deal with Tyler Bass? At 28, he’s still young for a kicker, but this season exposed cracks in his reliability. The stats don’t lie: his 82% success rate ranks him 22nd among qualified kickers, well below elite names like Justin Tucker (92%) or Harrison Butker (89%). Worse, his postseason numbers this year—3/5 on field goals—raise red flags for a team that’s desperate to get over the playoff hump. For a Bills squad built around Josh Allen’s MVP-caliber play, every point matters. Can they afford to stick with a kicker who falters when it counts most?

Fan sentiment on Reddit and X is split. Some argue Bass’s track record—he’s 112/129 lifetime—earns him another shot. “He’s had off years before and bounced back,” one user posted on r/BuffaloBills. Others aren’t so forgiving: “We’re a Super Bowl contender. We can’t gamble on ‘maybe he’ll fix it,’” another wrote. The ghost of Scott Norwood’s infamous Wide Right miss in Super Bowl XXV still haunts this fanbase, and Bass’s latest blunder reopened old wounds.

If the Bills decide to move on, who could step in? One name floating around is Jake Moody, the San Francisco 49ers’ second-year kicker. Moody’s hit 88% of his field goals since entering the league, including a perfect 5/5 in this year’s playoffs. At 25, he’s a long-term option with a big leg—his career-long is 57 yards. The catch? The 49ers might not let him go cheap, and Buffalo’s cap space is tight after locking in key players like Greg Rousseau. Other free-agent options, like veteran Brandon McManus (85% career), could be stopgaps, but they lack Moody’s upside.

The decision looms large for GM Brandon Beane. Stick with Bass and hope he regains his 2022 form (27/31)? Or roll the dice on a new kicker to end the postseason heartbreak? For Bills Mafia, the answer’s clear: no more misses. What do you think—does Bass deserve one more chance, or is it time to kick him to the curb?