Despite having 18 seasons of mileage on his legs, UCF alum Matt Prater still has some kicking power left. The 41-year old kicker was signed to the Buffalo Bills' practice squad in Week 1 after a hip/groin injury landed the team's starting placekicker, Tyler Bass, on injured reserve.
Prater wasted no time making his impact known.
Prater, now in his 19th NFL season, was elevated to the 53-man roster prior to the Bills opening week showdown against the Baltimore Ravens.
The veteran delivered instantly, nailing each of his three field goal attempts — most notably a winning 32-yard field goal with time expiring to cap off a 15-point fourth quarter comeback and give the Bills a 41-40 win in Week One.
"And then at the end, when we had gotten the ball back with [1:26 remaining], I knew we were going to get a shot," Prater said following the game according to NBC. "I'm still on cloud nine."
Prater, who was previously coaching his son's youth football team in Arizona, received the call from the Bills Wednesday night.
According to Bills coach Sean McDermott, Prater took a red-eye flight the next morning and arrived bright and early at the practice facility. McDermott described Prater as a "true pro," applauding him for his prompt arrival and seamless fit.`
"I couldn't be prouder, I'm happy for Matt, just joining us here and being able to do that. There's a lot that went into it before that, but just awesome to execute at that level with the game on the line," McDermott said after the game. "I was very confident in him when he went out there."
Upon his arrival in Buffalo, Prater had already made history. At 41 years old, Prater became the oldest player to ever dawn a Bills jersey, beating out former Bills quarterback Bill Munson's (38) by nearly three years.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the only active NFL player — on a roster or practice squad — who's older than Prater.
Prater has continued to be a viable option for the Bills, converting all nine of his extra point opportunities and seven of eight field goal attempts. Prater's longest kick of the season thus far, a 52-yard make, came in the Bills 30-10 rout against the Jets.
This long-distance conversion gave him 82 career makes from 50+ yards, adding to Prater's all-time NFL record.
Prater, a two-time Pro-Bowler, has shown he still has some juice left in his legs. He made one of his two field goal attempts and all four of his extra points against the Dolphins last night, giving him 1,838 career points. This ranks 15th all-time on the NFL scoring list.
The Bills need Prater to continue his success, as Bass will continue to be sidelined until at least Week 5. Buffalo welcomes the New Orleans Saints to town in week 4, as they look to remain undefeated and move to 4-0.