Matt Prater already holds the NFL record for longest field goal and he almost matched his record on Sunday with a 62-yard field goal against the Vikings.
With one second left in the second quarter and Arizona sitting at the Vikings’ 44-yard line, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury had two options for the final play of the half: He could send out Kyler Murray out for a Hail Mary or he could send out Prater for a 62-yard field goal attempt.
Kingsbury went with option two and Prater made his coach look like a genius by absolutely drilling a 62-yard kick that gave the Cardinals a 24-23 lead heading into halftime.
The kick was the second longest of Prater’s career.
Of course, his longest kick came back in 2013 when he set an NFL record by nailing a 64-yard field goal while kicking for the Broncos. Any time a kicker hits a field goal from more than 60 yards, it’s a big deal, and that’s because they’re so rare. The kick by Prater marked just the 12th time in NFL history that someone has a made a field goal from 62 yards or more (Over the course of NFL history, kickers are 11 of 89 on field goal attempts of 62 yards or more)
Since the start of the 2016 season, only four other kickers have connected from 62 or more yards with Graham Gano, Stephen Gostkowski, Brett Maher and Jake Elliott all having accomplished the feat (Maher has actually done it three times, which is an NFL record).
The kick by Prater set a franchise record for the Cardinals. Before Sunday, the longest field goal in team history was 61 yards, which was done by Jay Feely in 2012.
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