How many games did Matt Prater win for us?

That’s good posting right there

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This is a great question and one that requires some research. Not only games he won as in last second field goals, but also games he tied to send to OT. This would actually be fun to research! But what would the definition of “winning” a game for us be? Would that include game tying FGs that sent us to OT and we won? Or would it be kicking 3-5+ FGs to “win” the game for us?

You asked a great question I think we could figure this out!

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He had 8 kicks that put the Lions ahead in the 4th quarter and were the last score. A few were chip shots, but he did have mostly 40+ yarders… and the 59 yard game winner in 2020 against WFT.

He also hit a 59 yarder in 2016 against Vikings to force OT, and the Lions then scored a TD to win.

Considering the Lions won only 50 games in his 7 years, his 9 FGs directly helped almost 20% of the Lions wins during his time here.

Impressive for Prater… but sad to think that it took a few bombs from long range to help the Lions average 7 wins per year during that time.

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I’m just glad he didn’t get a 2-4 more game winners in 20 or 21 because That might’ve been enough to stay on the wrong road and not enough to make lions a winner.

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For me that game and that kick will always be what I think about first when I think about Prater. It was a clutch kick from 60 yards out and he cleared it with a ton of room to spare. It was incredible. Particularly given how improbable getting into field goal range was.

I was on a patio full of Vikings fans out of town in South Carolina during that game and I was the only Lions fan there. They were some kind of Vikings club that would meet there and take over BWs patio to watch the games. When the Vikings scored a TD to take the lead with barely over 20 seconds left in the game the patio went nuts and started congratulating eachother on the win and looking forward to next week. One guy who appeared to be a “leader” of sorts for the group told everyone to calm down and wait for the final whistle. He said “this is Matt Stafford here guys, the game might not be over yet.” Sure as shit backed up to the 25 with 0 timeouts Stafford hit 2 quick passes, spiked the ball and Prater hit the Super long game tying field goal to send it to OT where Golden Tate did the flip into the endzone to win the game on our first possession.

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2020–2 GW FGs (WFT & Cards) + 1 GW XP (Falcons)

2019–None

2018–None

2017–2 GW FGs (Bears & Bucs)

2016–4 GW FGs (Colts, Eagles, Rams, Vikings + 1 59 yard FG to Tie (Vikings–the Golden Tate flip game)

2015–1 GW FG (Bears)

2014–2 GW FGs (Falcons, Vikings) + 1 GW XP (Saints)

I’m defining GW FG as one which put the Lions ahead and was the last score of the game.

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Jason Hanson booted 17 game-winning field goals in his career; eight in regulation and nine in overtime.

That sounds like a lot, but not when you consider he played in 327 games. Prater did what he did for the Lions in only 108 games.

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I would expand Prater winning games to hitting significant field goals that impacted the final outcome of the game. Particularly where he hit long kicks that many other teams would have had to punt the ball away rather than put points on the board.

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Nice work collecting that data you guys, I appreciate that!

So here’s what boggles my mind a bit. Why cut and save 1.7 million on someone who has been so clutch for us?
Like someone else stated in another thread, kickers for the Lions have been soo good from Murray to Hanson to Prater. A guy with Prater’s leg is not that common.

Kickers are so cheap but mean so much to a teams success. A top QB gets 25-30 million a year, a top LT gets 15+ million, same goes for a top DT or DE…and kickers rarely get hurt. It just seems like teams can save money elsewhere, especially 1.7 million…and I get it, if we had someone we drafted that is just as good, then save the money…but if you don’t, just spend the damn money to have one constant on your team. I mean, what am I missing here?

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The only point I would bring up about including FGs made earlier in the game from long range is the growing trend of teams going for it on 4th down due to analytics. Several coaches now prefer to go for on something like 4th and 5 (or less)… rather than attempt a 50+ yard FG.

Then again… Caldwell and Patricia probably would have just punted… so you are probably right.

Frustrated Parks And Recreation GIF

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Especially considering the Lions still have a lot of salary cap room even after the Ragnow extension.

While it’s kinda negative

I’m wondering about how many kicks they missed that would’ve been game winners

I think I got one off top vs Houston Texans on thanksgiving.

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Hmmm
What an interesting dollar amount

… maybe they needed to free up $1.6mil for a new hire in aug 2021 :rofl:

I don’t think Caldwell was as conservative as people think he was.

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I thought he was working with the talent he had (or didn’t have, depending on your perspective). He intentionally created scenarios where Matt could win games for him.

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13?

Yeah I’d count those as a loss. Wonder how many he had? I can’t remember many.

I kinda felt bad for lions kicker
Especially Jason Hanson
Because the teams were bad
They barely had to face the really high pressure big moment kicks probably making it harder to prepare for
And also keeping them from memorable nfl moments to prove themselves as all times greats.

Prater if nailing 50-60 yarders these past years for GB , KC , Pittsburgh , even Chicago had huge playoff miss
Might be seen as an all time guy

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I seem to recall having this argument with someone (you?) during the process of the Caldwell hire.

I said one thing that didn’t excite me was his conservatism, and the counterparty said that Caldwell went for it on fourth down more than average, which meant he wasn’t conservative.

While I didn’t buy it then or now for the broader discussion of Caldwell’s overall philosophy and behavior, the point is well-made for the argument @Phunnypharm proffered. Caldwell was uncharacteristically not on the extreme conservative end when it came to going for it on fourth down.

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I’d love to see an autopsy of Caldwell’s time here by a pro coach. My hunch is we’ll see someone who did a heck of a job with what he had.

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