Prater all of the time considered himself an icy-veined kicker whose New York minute stayed steady whatsoever pressure sensation he was under. This yr, he’s getting the take a chance to prove it — time and once again.
Prater’s 51-yarder in extra time that sent the bronchos past the stunned Newmarket Bears 13-10 on Sun was his 3rd straight walk away field goal. It followed his 59-yarder that tied it with three secondments left behind in the 4th draw and quarter.
He and former Indianapolis Colt Mike Vanderjagt are the only kicker in NFL history to have a 50-yard-plus tie a game and then one to win in overtime. Vanderjagt made on November 24, 2002, against Denver.
"Those were fabulous clutch kicks, both," coach John Fox said of the Prater on Monday. "Did it lately. It was in a bit of a slump in about a month ago and that he worked out of it. We have great confidence in him really from any range. "
But above all by 50-plus, where is the 12 to 16 in his career.
Prater teammates knew that they had this one in the bag when Prater jogged on field in overtime — had watched him 70-yarders boom during the warm-up, then 51 meters was a chip shot.
"It's unbelievable," said linebacker Wesley Woodyard. "Prairie makes a lot of good things for us. And believe in him and I think finally believing in himself. "
Right toe Prater is a big reason that the Broncos is 7-1 since Tebow took over at quarterback, transforming the AFC West leader at 8 5 Broncos from an eyesore 1-4 as they chase their first playoff berth since 2005.
Prater had kicked the goal of the game-winning field on the last play of regulation or in overtime four times during this stretch. That is a shy of the NFL single-season record set by his predecessor, Jason Elam, in 2007.
"This was probably the funniest thing I've ever had playing football," Prater said. "Where in the past feels kind of like you're going to your work, only now you go back to school, where you're playing with your friends and you've got your back and all that stuff."
While the Broncos players and coaches are great believers in the ability to pull the Tebow WINS in time of crisis with six comebacks upswing over the past two months, they feel equally confident about Prairie under pressure.
When they reached the 40-yard line Bears ' in overtime, they played it safe, setting for a 51-yarder, which is right in his comfort zone. He nailed 3 of 4 from that distance this year.
"There is no doubt his leg strength is a weapon, especially here at home with the altitude," said Fox.
Prater has the best field goal percentage (. 750) from 50-plus yards in NFL history among kickers with at least 10 attempts. But this year, he is becoming known for more than just his howitzer of a right leg, which has produced an NFL-high 110 touchbacks by 2008.
In his first four NFL seasons, had a game-winning field goal, a 41-yarder to beat the New England 20-17 in 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment