Broncos kicker Matt Prater sets NFL record with 64-yard field goal

Matt Prater made NFL history on Sunday afternoon. (Jack Dempsey/AP) Yes, Denver kickers are aided by the mile-high altitude in their home city. But I don't

Doug Farrar | Dec 8, 2013

Broncos kicker Matt Prater sets NFL record with 64-yard field goal /

Matt Prater made NFL history on Sunday afternoon. (Jack Dempsey/AP)

Yes, Denver kickers are aided by the mile-high altitude in their home city. But I don't care if you're doing it from the top of Mt. Everest -- if you make a field goal from 64 yards out, that is a singularly impressive accomplishment. That is also an NFL record, and Broncos kicker Matt Prater achieved that feat with three seconds left in the first half of the Broncos' Sunday afternoon game against the Tennessee Titans.

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The kick moved the Broncos closer to the Titans at the half; it had been as competitive as the 21-20 score might suggest. But even if the Broncos win this game and wrap up the AFC West as a result, you can bet everyone will be talking about Prater's accomplishment. He broke the long-standing NFL record of 63 yards, first set by Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints in 1970, and tied by Denver's Jason Elam in 1998, and Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski in 2011.

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Published Dec 8, 2013

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.