1. Tyler Bass earns Special Teams Player of the Week honor
Throughout his rookie season, Tyler Bass has proven that he has what it takes to be a successful NFL kicker. In Sunday's game against the Chiefs, Bass kicked four field goals with two of them being from 50+ yards away. Those four field goals in a single playoff game tied Stephen Hauschka (1/4/20 at Hou.) for second-most by a Bill, behind club-record five by Steve Christie against Miami on 1/17/93. Bass also set the Bills rookie record for most points scored in a single season with 141 (28 FG, 49 PAT). In this week's Football Morning in America column written by Peter King, he awarded Bass with Special Teams Player of the Week, and here's what he had to say about rookie:
Special Teams Player of the Week
Tyler Bass, kicker, Buffalo
Capped a strong rookie year with a strong title game. He opened the scoring at Kansas City with a 51-yard field goal. He closed the scoring with a 51-yard field goal. And he executed a successful onside kick late in the game, the first in an NFL playoff game since 2014.
2. Jake Fromm's unprecedented rookie season
Rookie seasons for all NFL players are so important for them to grow and learn how to be successful in the league. Bills quarterback Jake Fromm had one of the most unique and unprecedented rookie seasons that a player could have. Due to COVID-19, Fromm served as the team's emergency quarterback in the case that Josh Allen and Matt Barkley were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He had to be by himself during every practice and had to separate himself from other teammates during meetings and on gamedays. Allen talked on Monday about Fromm's progress as a player throughout his weird rookie season.
"I mean he's grown a lot," Allen said. "And I told him today, we actually were able to sit a little closer than usual, but I just said, 'well Jake weird, weird rookie year man, this is this is not normal.' He agreed and our guys were able to talk to him a little bit, but the way that he handled it was awesome. To be asked to separate yourself from the team, be by yourself during practice and to sit 30 feet away from everybody in the meeting room, it was weird. It was tough and it again was just a weird rookie year that he got through. He did an awesome job on game days, keeping an eye out for things and coming up to me just kind of relaying some information. So, he's a young kid, he's extremely smart and he's only gonna grow and learn from this situation."
3. Gabriel Davis went above and beyond in his rookie year
Gabriel Davis finished up his rookie season with 35 receptions for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. That marks the eighth-most receiving yards in a season by a Bills rookie. And his seven touchdowns are tied with Elbert Dubenion (1960) for the second-most touchdowns by a Bills rookie only behind Lee Evans' nine touchdowns during the 2004 season. Davis played at a high level all year for the Bills and was able to make big plays in some of the biggest moments. He has had great teammates to learn from inside the wide receiver room this season. Cole Beasley, who announced yesterday that he's been playing on a partially broken fibula, talked about Davis's rookie season and the growth that he's seen from him throughout the year.
"It's hard to even say it was growth, because I mean he did it from the beginning of the year," Beasley stated. "He played consistently all season so I'm excited to see how he grows from this season to next season really. Because he really went above and beyond most of the rookies that I've played with. He's smart, picked up the offense super quick and then made plays for us and big-time games when we needed him. So, anytime you have a young guy that can do that, the sky's the limit. So, we'll see what happens when he comes back next year.
