After the AFC kicker hit a 75-yard field goal at Pro Bowl practice, the NFC kicker decided to top him.
Lions kicker Matt Prater, spurred on by the 75-yarder hit by Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, hit a 76-yard field goal in practice this week in Orlando.
“I heard you hit from 75, this is from 76, I’m going to try to one-up you,” Prater said to Tucker on tape, just before making the kick.
Prater made the Pro Bowl as an alternate for Falcons kicker Matt Bryant, which turned out to be a good thing for the Lions’ other specialists: Prater told the Lions’ website he bought tickets to Orlando for Lions punter Sam Martin and long snapper Don Muhlbach so they could join him.
Here’s hoping that NFC coach Jason Garrett or AFC coach Andy Reid gives Prater or Tucker a chance to try a field goal from 70 yards or beyond. The Pro Bowl is a game when most players don’t give it everything they’ve got because they don’t want to get hurt. If a kicker wants to show the best he can do, he should get the opportunity.
