Jakes Bates is NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November

(CBS DETROIT) The NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November is Jake Bates, a kicker for the Detroit Lions.

Bates is the third player this season to receive monthly honors, following quarterback Jared Goff (NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October) and Aidan Hutchinson (NFC Defensive Player of the Month for September). According to the Lions organization, it is also the first time in the team’s history that the offensive, defensive, and special teams players have all won player of the month honors in the same season.

Bates joins Detroit great Jason Hanson and Matt Prater as the only Lions kickers to win NFC Special Teams Player of the Month, making him the first to do it since Prater in September 2017.

Bates scored all 17 point-after tries and amassed 41 points in November. Additionally, Bates made 8 of 9 field goals, four of which were from 50 yards or more, including a 52-yarder with seconds remaining to seal Detroit’s 26-23 comeback victory over the Houston Texanson on November 10.

After making three field goals of 60 yards or more this season and a UFL record 64 yards at Ford Field in a Week 1 victory over the St. Louis Battlehawks, Bates, who was the star of the Michigan Panthers the previous season, inked a two-year, $1.98 million contract with Detroit in June.

With a victory over the Green Bay Packers (9-3) on Thursday night, Bates and the Lions, who are currently leading the NFC North (11-2), want to guarantee a postseason berth. The game starts at 8:15 p.m.

Joe Buczek works for CBS Detroit as the manager of digital content and promotion. The Leader and the Kalkaskian, the Oakland Press, the Morning Sun, the Grand Traverse Insider, and WWTV were among his prior employers.

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