ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As night time fell upon Highmark Stadium on Sunday night, the goalposts in the north end zone stood tall, as they always do.
They stood tall, as did Tyler Bass earlier in the day.
The Bills kicker delivered arguably the biggest kick of his life through those same uprights Sunday, nailing a franchise-record 61-yard field goal with five seconds left to lift Buffalo to a 30-27 win over division rival Miami.
"Just even walking out there, I'm just like, I just know this is going in," Bills tight end Quintin Morris said. "He's just been through so much and again, just to have that opportunity there at the end, there was like, no doubt in my mind, I was like, this is going in and he drilled it. So I love that for him."
What Morris was referring to are the well-documented struggles Bass has had dating back to last season.
A late miss that would've tied the game against Kansas City last year in the AFC Divisional Round loss. Or to be more recent, a missed extra point Sunday against Miami that at the time meant Buffalo had a 12-10 lead instead of a 13-10 lead.
Through eight weeks, Buffalo's kicker ranks 28th in the NFL in kicking percentage (80 percent), making 12 of 15 kicks on the season.
Bass had his moment of redemption though against the Dolphins, coming through in the clutch with his fifth career game-winning field goal in the final minute of a game.
"I look back and it seemed like the whole team was off the sideline giving him a big hug and huddling around him," Bills long snapper Reid Ferguson said. "So he's definitely not going to forget that. I think that that's just a testament to how much guys love (Tyler Bass) and how much he's been fighting to kind of get over this hump."
A fight his teammates have taken notice of, making the game-winning kick that much sweeter of a moment for them to witness.
"I'm so proud of him, like, so proud of him," Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam said. "In this game, you're going to deal with inconsistencies. The ones who can stay strong and continue to stay stick to their process, I feel like it's going to pay off."
Added Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins: "The confidence that he's been able to have to be able to do things like that, like that's a hell of a kick. No matter what his past was, that's a hell of a kick. But then for him to do that with his past and go, put all that stuff to bed and move on to the next kick, go win us. A game is exceptional."