Cardinals K Matt Prater’s game vs. Browns leads to player of the week nod
Oct 20, 2021, 6:05 AM | Updated: 6:11 am
Matt Prater #5 of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates a field goal with teammates during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Arizona Cardinals kicker Matt Prater, the NFC’s leading scorer, went a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals and converted all four of his extra points Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, earning him the Week 6 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award, the NFL announced Wednesday.
Prater’s 13 points Sunday in a 37-14 win bumped his season total to 56 — it’s also his 13th time receiving the award and first as a Cardinal. The points scored put Prater at 1,510 for his career, making him the 24th NFL player to surpass the 1,500-point mark.
So far this year, only Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass (63) and Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (62) have more points than Prater.
Prater hit three consecutive field goals — including a 53-yarder that gave Arizona a 23-7 lead with 43 seconds left in the second quarter. That would have stood at halftime if the Cardinals had not allowed a Hail Mary to cut it to 23-14 by the half.
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The kicker became the fourth Cardinal to win a player of the week honor through the team’s 6-0 start. Cornerback Byron Murphy (Week 3 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars), quarterback Kyler Murray (Week 2 vs. Minnesota Vikings) and linebacker Chandler Jones (Week 1 vs. Tennessee Titans) have won those weekly awards.
Prater is 11-of-14 on field goals through six games this season.
All-time, he trails only former Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri (19) in total career special teams player of the week honors.
Elsewhere in the NFC, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (445 passing yards, three touchdowns) and Los Angeles Rams safety Taylor Rapp (two interceptions), earned weekly offensive and defensive honors, respectively.
In the AFC, Henry (143 rushing yards, three touchdowns) and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (seven tackles, two sacks, three passes defensed) won awards. Jaguars kicker Matthew Wright hit three field goals, including a 53-yard long game-winner as time expired for a win, to win AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
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