[2] Bailey originally accepted to walk on at University of Arkansas, in order to receive an academic scholarship that would cover his tuition.

[7] Oklahoma State won the December 2010 Alamo Bowl 36–10 over Arizona, and he made three of three field goals in that game: from 40, 50, and 44 yards.

[9] At one point during training camp, he had to compete with three other place kickers who included David Buehler, Shayne Graham and Dave Rayner.

During a Week 2 27–24 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers, after missing a chip shot attempt in the first quarter, Bailey made a 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime, and the eventual game-winner from 19 yards.

[10] In the next game against the Washington Redskins, Bailey tied a rookie record by converting six field goals, accounting for all of Dallas' points during the 18–16 victory.

Bailey became the third rookie in NFL history to make six field goals in a game, following in the footsteps of Garo Yepremian, who converted six-of-eight attempts on November 13, 1966, for the Detroit Lions, and Jeff Reed, who made all six tries on December 1, 2002, for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With the game tied 13–13, with six seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett called a timeout before the snap, but Bailey's kick was good.

Following the time-out, Bailey kicked the field goal short and to the left, leaving many Cowboys fans frustrated, convinced Garrett had just iced his own kicker.

With 32 seconds left, Tony Romo completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant, but because the following two-point conversion failed, Bailey had to make an onside kick.

[31] During a Week 3 34–31 road victory over the St. Louis Rams, Bailey set a franchise record with his 28th consecutive field goal, making a 40-yard attempt in the third quarter.

[32] Two weeks later, Bailey missed a potential game-winning 53-yard field goal against the Houston Texans at the end of regulation, breaking a franchise record streak of 30 consecutive makes dating back to the previous season.

[33] In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks, he became the most-accurate kicker in NFL history with a 42-yard made field goal in the second quarter of the eventual 30–23 road victory.

[36] Bailey moved into second place in franchise history with 182 career extra points, passing Mike Clark after making three in the narrow season-opening 27–26 victory over the New York Giants.

[39] Bailey was selected to his first career Pro Bowl after making a career-high 93.8% of his field goal attempts, including being perfect (19-for-19) from 39-yards or closer.

[45] Bailey recorded his 28th career game of three or more made field goals by converting all four attempts in the season-opening 19-3 victory over the Giants on NBC Sunday Night Football.

[51] In the regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bailey missed an extra point and a field goal during the 6–0 shutout road victory.

[54] Although Bailey was coming off his worst season, his September 1 release by the Cowboys was nonetheless considered a surprise move,[55] after the team decided to keep Canadian Football League journeyman Brett Maher, who had a solid preseason (including a 57-yard field goal) yet had never kicked in an NFL regular-season game.

[59] He struggled during the preseason, forcing the Vikings to trade a fifth-round draft pick to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for kicker Kaare Vedvik.

[65] Bailey had a rebound season, re-establishing himself as a notable placekicker, converting 27 of 29 field goals (93.1%), although he had a career-low average in extra points, making 40 of 44 attempts (90.9%).