Detroit Lions: Lets take a minute to appreciate Matt Prater

The Detroit Lions have never been known for their consistency, but one player continues to be one steady source of success. Time to appreciate Matt Prater.

If someone were to describe the Detroit Lions in one word, that word would not be “consistent”. While they have had a decent amount of success in recent years, they have not been able to be consistent in any aspect of the game. The kicking game has arguably been the most consistent unit on the Lions in recent years, and Matt Prater has been the reason why.

Matt Prater is considered one of the best kickers in the NFL, and he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He made his 2nd pro bowl last year, and he has made more than 80 percent of his field goals since 2012, including making 96 percent of his field goals with the Denver Broncos in 2013.

Prater’s career field goal percentage is 83.459 percent, which is good enough to put him in the 87th percentile of all kickers in NFL history (who have attempted at least 100 field goals). He’s also been lights out on extra points, as he’s never made less than 92 percent of his extra points in a season, including a stretch where he didn’t miss once in four seasons (2011-2014).

Such consistent play for such a long time has finally earned Prater some accolades. He has won NFC special teams player of the week three times in the last ten regular season weeks. He also just won NFC special teams player of the month for the month of September, even though the Lions only played in three games this past month.

Prater has set many records in his NFL career. The one thing most casual fans remember about him is when he set the record for longest NFL field goal of all time when he hit an impressive 64-yarder in the thin air of Denver in 2013.

Earlier this season, Prater set the record for most 50+ yard kicks made in a row, when he hit his 11th straight kick last week against the Atlanta Falcons from 57 yards out. In that same game, Prater hit a 55-yarder which made him only the second kicker in NFL history to make 10 kicks of 55 yards or more, joining Sebastian Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has taken notice on how well Prater has kicked his entire career.

"“The majority of the time he hits it good,” Stafford told Mlive.com, “and he’s been doing a heck of a job. That whole operation has been great.”"

Unfortunately, Matt Prater’s deep field goal streak was broken on Sunday, when he missed a 59-yarder at the end of the first half. Despite the miss, Prater is still 8/9 on the season and made 2 field goals on Sunday that ended up being very key in the 14-7 Lions win on the road against the Minnesota Vikings.

Next: Detroit Lions win defensive battle over Vikings, 14-7

Prater can be the X-factor on Detroit’s potential playoff run, and his ability to hit clutch kicks, no matter how deep they are, has been key in so many Lions wins over the past three years. He might be the one Lions player that 100 percent of the Motor City fans have faith in. No matter how shaky this offense can be or how unreliable this banged up offensive line is, one thing is for certain: Matt Prater is going to make the field goal.