Cardinals kicker Matt Prater just had the worst day of his NFL career

We’re sure that when Cardinals kicker Matt Prater woke up this morning, he wasn’t expecting the day to unfold the way it did. In Arizona’s 31-19 win over the Jaguars, Prater missed a 68-yard field goal at the end of the first half that was returned by Jacksonville receiver/defensive back Jamal Agnew for a record-tying 109-yard touchdown. As previously noted, Prater was also responsible for the most recent 109-yard missed field goal return — in the 2018 preseason when he was with the Lions, and Buccaneers receiver Adam Humphries returned Prater’s 62-yard miss the same distance.

The football gods were not done with Prater, though. When Prater was with the Broncos in 2013, he set the NFL record for the longest field goal in NFL history with a 64-yarder, and he booted a 62-yarder against the Vikings in Week 2, so that was at the root of the Cardinals’ confidence in Prater’s abilities.

As it turned out, it was the Ravens who expected a superhuman effort from their kicker and were actually rewarded for it. With time expiring in Baltimore’s game against the Lions, Justin Tucker — one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history — kicked a 66-yard field goal to take his team to a 19-17 win, and also to take Prater’s record out of the books.

Perhaps more agonizing is the fact that the ball bounced off the bottom of the upright before it went in. Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to go back to bed and start over? Matt Prater might be experiencing that right now.