Jake Bates drills first career field goal in Lions Week 1 game vs. Rams

Despite having a cup of coffee with a few NFL teams over the past few years, kicker Jake Bates had never gotten into a pro game before the Detroit Lions ' Week 1 contest against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.

And it wasn't long before Bates got his first career field goal attempt. In the second quarter and with the Lions down 3-0, the offense stalled stalled in the red zone and opted to roll with Bates for a 25-yard attempt.

Bates' first attempt in the NFL went off without a hitch and he split the uprights to tie the game at three.

Bates gained fame earlier this year when he starred in the UFL as a member of the Michigan Panthers, where he made a name for himself by drilling ridiculously long field goals en route to being named to the All-UFL Team .

The Lions signed Bates to a two-year, $1.98 million deal in June and originally intended for him to compete against Michael Badgley before the veteran kicker suffered a season-ending injury .

Detroit showed faith in the young kicker by not bringing in more competition, and that didn't change even as Bates went through some struggles in training camp and the preseason.

“It was good to see Jake hit that field goal — 53 yarder with the rain right down the pipes," head coach Campbell said, per Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit . "We told him after the scrimmage the other day, ‘We’re sticking with you. We’re going to give you a chance to grow here. Let’s see how you respond.’ He was told that, (Dave) Fipp told him, I told him, and so I thought it was encouraging.”

So far, Bates is off to a good start to his career, but there's obviously a long way to go before he secures the job for good.