The Michigan Panthers fell to the Birmingham Stallions 31-18 today, as the Stallions scored 28 unanswered points to advance to the UFL championship game. Detroit Lions fan-favorite Jake Bates had an up-and-down game and will now turn his attention to potential NFL interest with the Panthers' season-ending.
Bates had a fantastic start to the game, as he connected from 53 yards to give the Panthers a two-score lead. The 53-yard make was Bates' 7th make from 50 yards this season.
To end the first quarter, Bates hit a 42-yard attempt to extend the Panthers lead to 12.
After the Stallions responded with a field goal of their own to get on the board to start the second quarter, Bates responded by hitting a 39-yard attempt to recapture the Panthers 12-point lead.
After Panthers linebacker Noah Dawkins forced a fumble on Stallions quarterback Adrian Martinez, Bates hit his fourth field goal of the afternoon, connecting on a 25-yard attempt to extend the Panthers lead to 15 with four minutes to go in the second quarter.
Things started to go downhill for Bates after his four-for-four start. On the ensuing play, the 24-year-old kicked the ball out of bounds on the kickoff. This led to the Stallions receiving a short field and scoring a touchdown immediately after Bates' costly mistake. This cut the Panthers lead to nine with 3:59 remaining in the second quarter.
The mistakes didn't stop there, as Bates missed a 51-yard attempt. The star kicker's first miss of the afternoon led to the Stallions scoring a field goal at the end of the half to cut the deficit to six.
After a wild third quarter filled with takeaways and Matt Corral finding Amari Rodgers for a touchdown to give the Stallions their first lead of the game to start the fourth quarter, Jake Bates' 44-yard attempt was blocked by Birmingham offensive tackle Armani Taylor-Prioleau. This led to Matt Corral extending the Stallions' lead to 13 with a touchdown pass to running back Ricky Person Jr. The Panthers found themselves down 31-18 with four minutes remaining.
Jake Bates had a successful 2024 season in the UFL, as the Arkansas kicker garnered interest from multiple NFL teams, including the Lions. But he made a few costly mistakes in his team's loss today, including two missed field goals, one being blocked, and a kickoff out of bounds that led to a momentum-shifting touchdown. A great season came to a disastrous end for the Lions fan-favorite.