Arizona Cardinals kicker Matt Prater wins 15th Special Teams Player of the Week honor
Arizona Cardinals kicker Matt Prater was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday for his performance during Arizona’s 28-16 victory over the visiting Dallas Cowboys.
It was Prater’s third time winning the award with the Cardinals and his 15th overall, the second most among kickers in NFL history behind only Adam Vinatieri (19).
Prater connected on all four of his kicks (three field goals and one extra point) in Sunday’s win, including a 62-yard field goal at the end of the first half. That tied his own record for the longest in franchise history. It’s also the longest field goal in the NFL this season.
The NFL’s active leading scorer, Prater surpassed 1,700 career points and passed Jan Stenerud (1,699) for 19th place in the league’s all-time scoring list.
Coach Jonathan Gannon, who met with reporters after it was announced Prater won Special Teams Player of the Week, said he wished he would have checked his emails before addressing his players.
“Awesome. I wish I would have known that,” Gannon said. “It’s my fault because I don’t check emails, but I wish I would have known that before the team meeting because I would have announced that. But obviously, he’s one of our best players and it’s cool for him to get recognized. Everyone knows he’s a huge reason why we won that game.”
Prater’s 62-yard field goal marked his 73rd career field goal of 50 yards or longer, extending his NFL record.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals kicker Matt Prater wins Special Teams award
