Getty Matt Prater celebrates his kick with the Lions.
The Detroit Lions haven’t had much go right this season or historically lately, but the play of Matt Prater has always been a bright spot.
Prater made even more NFL history during Detroit’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. With a 54 yard field goal which gave the Lions a 16-14 lead, Prater drilled his 59th career field goal from 50 yards or more. That helped him set the record for the most kicks in NFL history from 50 yards or more, passing Sebastian Janikowski for top kicker of all-time.
.@Lions K @MattPrater_5 connects on his 59th-career field goal of 50+ yards, passing K Sebastian Janikowski (58) for the most in #NFL history.
Here’s a look at the kick:
Prater has been one of the best kickers in modern history and it’s safe to say that with this record, he has staked his claim to the title at this point in time. Prater has a strong leg, and continues to impress in terms of his standing in the NFL.
Whether or not Prater returns to the Lions is anyone’s guess at this point in time, and the free agent will be just one more player he team’s next staff has to decide on. Clearly, however, Prater has earned the right to stay with his consistent play through the years in Detroit and being an NFL record holder such as this.
Matt Prater 2020 Season
In spite of this record, Prater has been far from consistent this season, only connecting on 20 of 27 kicks for a 74% conversion rate in 2020. He also has only connected on 36 of 38 extra points, missing a pair coming into Week 17, That’s lower than his normal percentages. Even such, Prater has been good overall, hitting four kicks from 50 yards or more this season and also nailing the game winning extra point against the Atlanta Falcons earlier this year. Though Prater hasn’t been as consistent, he is still good and remains one of the NFL’s best kickers as this stat helps to prove moving forward for the team.
Matt Prater Career Stats
Prater isn’t likely to slow down even though he has aging and has struggled in 2020. Though the crash for kickers tends to be abrupt, he has shown no signs of hitting a wall whatsoever and has been consistent on the whole overall this season. 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%, 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. He also has the longest field goal in NFL history from 63 yards. 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 this season, has etched his name in the record books in terms of being the best kicker in the league from distance. That counts for something as he continues his career.
READ NEXT: Lions Set to Pursue Super Bowl Winning GM