HOUSTON – Nineteen months ago, Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates was training in Houston to be a brick salesman with the Acme Brick company and thought his NFL dream was over. On Sunday night, he celebrated a 52-yard walk-off field goal to help the Lions overcome a 16-point deficit and beat the Texans 26-23.

“I just don’t deserve this. I was a football player growing up, I idolized football players in the NFL and all that stuff and just to be here is surreal,” said Bates, who spent last season with the Michigan Panthers in the UFL . ‘I notice that I still keep myself in a bind. I am so grateful for all the doors the Lord has opened for me.”

Bates, a native of Tomball, Texas, also scored a 58-yard field goal with 5:01 left in the fourth, tying the game at 23-23, the third longest in team history.

Those field goals were crucial to Detroit’s win on a night when Lions quarterback Jared Goff also threw a career-high five interceptions.

After helping the Lions go 8-1 for the first time since 1954, Bates struggled to find the words to describe the experience, but his teammates were certainly impressed.

“I wanted to hold on. I was like, ‘please, please, please,'” said Lions cornerback Carlton Davis, who recorded two interceptions. “Because they’re a good team and you don’t want to give them too many chances to get back into the game. He froze the game for us. He did his job and I’m so happy for him.”

In Week 7 at Minnesota, Bates’ game-winning 44-yard field goal also led the Lions to a division victory, and he has made all fourteen field goals he has attempted this season.

In the waning seconds in Houston, as Bates trotted onto the NRG Stadium field with a play button to connect on the game-winning field goal, Goff said his first thoughts were “holy smoke.”

With the win, Goff became the fourth QB in NFL history to throw five interceptions and still win the game. His five picks were also the most in a primetime game since Drew Brees in 2012.

“I don’t think I ever lost confidence in the end because I felt like I did what I had to do on most of those plays and our defense really saved us,” said Goff, who went 15-for-30 for 240 passing yards. and two touchdowns. “They really did that all day and the guys stayed with me on offense and I told them, ‘Hey man, I’m doing good. Hang in there. I’m good. I’m going to figure this out’ and she stayed with me hanging.”

After trailing by 16 points at halftime, Detroit’s victory was also the largest halftime deficit overcome by a team that threw more than five interceptions in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Goff described it as a “rollercoaster of a game” and also a “mental battle” to overcome those five turnovers, but he thinks it will help him along the way.

“If you can dig deep into those adverse situations and come out on top, it just prepares you for the next adverse situation,” Goff said. “It’s never over until it’s over. We were in a hole there and they played well, they hummed in defense. I kept giving them the ball over and over again and we fought. We really did.” Detroit has now won seven straight games, including four of the last five on the schedule. The Lions return home on November 17 to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, where head coach Dan Campbell has ultimate confidence in his team and kicker to continue their winning streak.

“Look, I feel really good about our team. They haven’t done anything that would surprise me negatively,” Campbell said. “They are exactly what I thought they would be, the fight they put into it.”