Getty Matt Prater celebrates a kick in Atlanta.
The Detroit Lions won a close game against the Atlanta Falcons, and while many might think the last second touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson won the game, a critical kick may be getting overlooked.
Matt Prater had to drill a 48 yard extra point, one of the longest extra points in recent memory, in order to ensure the Lions won. Prater had missed a 46 yard field goal earlier in the game, but calmly drilled the extra point, preventing overtime in the game.
Afterward, Prater claimed that the kick was “right up there” with the most memorable ones he’s made with the Lions in his career in Detroit, and the longest extra point that he can remember attempting as a kicker in the league.
Prater, of course, nailed the kick sparking off a massive celebration with the team and getting the Lions back to 3-3. Players rarely comment on where their clutch moments rank, so it’s interesting to note that Prater likes this kick enough to consider it one of his best.
Matt Prater’s Greatest Kicks With Lions
Prater has nailed almost too many big kicks with the Lions to note. A few of the biggest? Game winners against the Atlanta Falcons in 2014 in London, the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving in 2016, the Chicago Bears in 2017. He also hit a 58 yarder as time expired in 2016 against the Vikings to improbably send the game to overtime. Just this season, Prater beat the Arizona Cardinals with a key kick as well. That is merely the tip of Prater’s kicking iceberg, though. He also remains the NFL leader in distance with a 64 yard kick to his credit, but that happened in Denver and not Detroit.
Knowing this, and the degree of difficulty with which Prater seems to operate constantly, it is noteworthy that Prater considers the extra point to be one of his greatest hits. Certainly, it was a tough pressure kick with plenty on the line, and the stakes might never have been higher considering Detroit’s uneven season to this point. Arguably, it could be a season saver in the long run for the team.
Matt Prater Career Stats
Prater isn’t likely to slow down any in the coming years. Though the crash for kickers tends to be abrupt when it comes, he has shown no signs of hitting a wall whatsoever. At age 35, Prater could just be getting started in terms of making an impact on the game given what he has already done. At 83.4% coming into this season, Prater is one of the more consistent kickers the game has to this day in terms of sheer accuracy and ability to make clutch, game winning kicks as he has shown once again in 2020. He’s also been consistent in terms of extra points, even as the league has changed how that play works and has attempted to make it more difficult on kickers in order to make the game more exiting.
Prater continues to play big for the Lions, and while Jason Hanson is a legend in his own right, Detroit’s current kicker one day might give several of his marks a run if he can stay healthy and consistent.
More big kicks could be coming down the pipe for Prater soon, but in his mind, they may have to be even better to top the one in Atlanta.
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