MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Bates sold bricks. Now he makes game-winning kicks in the NFL.

Bates made a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left Detroit Lions won 31:29 over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Bates has a 10-10 record on field goals and a 20-21 record on extra points this season. The rookie signed with the Lions in June after a strong performance with the UFL's Michigan Panthers, where he made three field goals of at least 60 yards in the Spring League.

Bates, 25, was the Southeastern Conference Kicker of the Year in 2022, his only year at Arkansas. After going undrafted, he thought it was time to try a different field – a completely different field.

“Eighteen months ago I thought I was done with football,” Bates said. “I was selling bricks in Houston back then. I thought the dream was dead.”

Instead, he completed a tryout with the Houston Texans from his hometown. He spent 10 days in their training camp before being cut in August 2023.

That led him to the UFL, where he made seven of 11 field goals of over 50 yards for the Panthers last spring.

The Lions gave him the chance to compete with Michael Badgley for the team's kicker job. The competition ended on July 25 when Badgley suffered a season-ending injury. It's been Bates' job ever since, and it didn't take long for him to gain the trust of coach Dan Campbell.

“I just felt good about it,” Campbell said of the decision to go for a field goal on the Lions’ final drive instead of pushing for a touchdown. “We played five NFL games with him, and then when you see him every day in practice and he has the noise of the crowd, moving the spot and me yelling at him – you just apply pressure and watch as he continues to do that kicks.”

“You feel pretty good when you push him to do it,” Campbell continued. “We just felt like his confidence was growing and he was just going out there and it was just the next kick, and he did that.”

While more than 66,000 fans cheered at US Bank Stadium, the rookie calmly walked out and split the uprights.

“It was definitely the loudest environment I’ve ever been in. But at the end of the day, it does the same job that I prayed for so long and worked so hard for,” Bates said. “I just told myself to stay calm… do these things to keep a good head and then go out and do my job.”

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