Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Bills' 2023 season came to an unexpected end on Sunday night in Orchard Park, and much of the blame from fans has fallen on the foot of kicker Tyler Bass.
With 1:47 to go and trailing by three points, Bass lined up to try a 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 27-27, putting the Bills in a position to, at least, hold the Kansas City Chiefs and potentially force overtime. However, his kick ended up drifting hard to the right off his foot and sailed no good.
"I love this team, and it hurts. This one hurts bad," said Bass following Sunday's loss at Highmark Stadium. "I've got to do a better job. Totally on me.
"It's a feeling I can't even describe. It's a tough feeling, but you've just got to keep your head high."
In the hours following Sunday's loss, Bass was on the receiving end of some hateful comments from disgruntled fans on his social media accounts, leading him to deactivate his accounts.
Seeing that news on Monday broke the heart of Orchard Park native and Bills fan Andrea Attfield.
"My girls love the Bills, like we all do, and obviously we were all really disappointed with the outcome," said Attfield in an interview with WBEN on Monday. "Nobody wants them to lose, and obviously he didn't want to miss that field goal. However, I think sometimes we all forget the humanity in sports. He's still a human being, and nobody's probably more upset than him. He's a young guy, he's only 26 years old, and my heart broke for him."
In talks with her daughters - 8-year-old Aerilon and 7-year-old Ava - on Monday morning, they felt there was something that could be done in an attempt to perk up his spirits.
"They decided to make cards for him and for some of the players just to kind of turn it around, and bring some happiness to their day," Attfield said. "I reached out to Hope Rises, and I asked them, 'Is there a place you can send these?' And [founder Kate Glaser] asked if I would share a picture, and what we're doing so that other people can also do the same."
Attfield feels the positive message seemed to catch on with a lot of Bills fans and Western New Yorkers. She even saw some teachers catching on with students in their classes make Bass and the Bills cards.
"It just made me so happy that we could bring some joy to his life," Attfield said.
Attfield also believes the whole situation with Bass is not an accurate reflection on Buffalo and Western New York.
"Most people are really good here, and we try to do good things," she said. "I'm already seeing a lot of good coming from this and a lot of people rooting on Tyler and all the other Bills players."
And the messages from Aerilon and Ava were nothing but love for Bass and the rest of the Bills organization.
"Their cards are really cute. They made buffaloes, they made helmets and they wrote, 'Thank you, Tyler! We love you! Go Bills!' And they were just thrilled to do something happy and send him a card to brighten his day," Attfield said.
In the end, Attfield feels a simple act of kindness such as this can create a ripple effect, and make a lot of light in a situation that seems pretty dark.
"I think, especially in our city, there's so much good, and people want to do good. And even though it was a tough loss [Sunday], people are coming together and saying, 'You know what, we still love the Bills and they played their hearts out.' What more can we ask for?," Attfield said. "I think just banding together and spreading some light is the best we can do."
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