Last Friday, the Detroit Lions’ training camp scrimmage practice was a tough one for kicker Jake Bates. As the team’s only kicker, Bates went just 8-of-14 on field goals on the day, and added a missed extra point to boot. Bates had a chance to finish the day on a high note, but his 40-yard kick drifted way wide left.

The Lions would have been more than justified to look for competition to bring in, but they didn’t.

“We told him after the scrimmage the other day, ‘Man, we’re sticking with you. We’re going to give you a chance to grow here. Let’s see how you respond,’” coach Dan Campbell said.

While Bates reportedly only went 6-of-9 on field goals during a joint practice this week against the New York Giants, he capped his week with a huge moment. In rainy conditions, Bates drilled a 53-yard field goal in Thursday’s preseason game, the team’s only points of the night.

“It’s like small victories. That’s how you gain confidence is demonstrated ability to do it,” Campbell said, later adding, “I thought it was encouraging really. The last two days, and then tonight to watch him step up and hit that.”

It wasn’t a perfect night for Bates. While he didn’t attempt any other kicks, he did have a miscue on a kickoff. One line-drive kick landed around the 32-yard line, well short of the new kickoff “landing zone.” That’s a new violation, and it resulted in a penalty that set the Giants up at their own 40-yard line.

Campbell chalked up the mistake to adjusting to the new kickoff and just a plain mishit.

“It’s just going to be different for Jake and he’s been working with it,” Campbell said. “He’s been working with some of these kicks and he’s gotten better. He just mishit the ball. He just mishit it, but that’s one of those, you learn from it, because it’s critical. I mean, you take the ball at the 40-yard line that’s a huge play. We’ll keep working with it.”