Matt Prater Matthew Phillip Prater ( born August 10 , 1984 ) is an American football placekicker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was originally signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2006 . He played college football at the University of Central Florida , where he majored in psychology . High school career . Prater attended Estero High School in Estero , Florida . During his tenure , he converted 56 - of - 58 extra point attempts and also booted 14 field goals , including one of 49 yards . Prater put 84 percent of his kickoffs in the end zone for touchback s . He was named second - team All - State , first - team All - Conference and All - Southwest Florida . He was also selected to the second - team " Dream Team . " Prater graduated from Estero High School in 2002 . Prater transferred to Estero High school his sophomore year from Cypress Lake High School . College career . 2003 . Prater showed significant improvement as a sophomore year in 2003 , leading the nation in punting and setting school and MAC records with 47 . 9 yards per punt . He is known as the perfectionist of the Rugby punt , which is now well known through the NCAA and is used by several teams . As a kicker , he converted 10 - of - 13 field goal attempts and was a perfect 4 - for - 4 on attempts of 40 yards or longer . Prater had a career day against Virginia Tech on August 31 . He punted six times and had a 55 . 7 - yard average , including punts of 71 and 67 yards . He also went 4 - for - 4 on extra points and had three touchbacks on kickoffs . 2004 . In 2004 , Prater appeared in nine games before missing the rest of the season with a leg injury . At one point during the season he made 11 consecutive field goals - the second - longest streak in school history . The streak was snapped against Buffalo on October 4 . 2005 . As a senior in 2005 , Aaron Horne took over punting duties for the University of Central Florida while Prater concentrated almost solely on kicking . He made 17 - of - 26 field goal attempts on the year , including a season - long 49 - yard conversion . He also went 29 - for - 32 on point - after attempts . He punted four times for 160 yards during the season . In his final collegiate game , Prater set up a text book onside kick , which allowed UCF to tie the game . However , in the first overtime , he missed an extra point , which dubbed him as the player that cost UCF the Hawaii Bowl and gave Nevada a 49 - 48 victory in the 2005 Hawaii Bowl . In 46 games spanning four years with UCF , Prater converted 50 of 74 field goal attempts , with a long of 53 yards . His 50 field goals ties him for the school record , while his 258 points ranks him fourth all - time in school history . Professional career . 2006 . Prater was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on May 4 , 2006 . He made field goals of 22 , 44 and 48 yards in a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns , but had little chance of beating out veteran incumbent Jason Hanson and was subsequently released August 27 . He spent the rest of the season as a free agent , but did have workouts with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings . 2007 . Prater was signed to a future contract by the Miami Dolphins on January 11 , 2007 . He was released by the team on August 27 , as fellow placekicker Jay Feely won the job . Shortly thereafter , Prater signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons and beat out Billy Cundiff for the job . Including the Falcons ' preseason finale , Prater missed at least one field goal in three games played with the Falcons . Prater missed two field goals against the Jacksonville Jaguars in week two and was cut on September 18 . The Falcons signed Morten Andersen as his replacement . 2008 . Prater became the starting kicker for the Denver Broncos , replacing Jason Elam who signed with the Atlanta Falcons . The Broncos waived Garrett Hartley on July 21 , 2008 , leaving Prater as the only kicker on the Denver roster going into their first preseason game against the Houston Texans . On September 28 , 2008 , Prater made a 56 - yard field goal late in the first half of the Broncos ' loss at the Kansas City Chiefs , which was the third longest field goal in team history and the longest away from Denver . He made two field goals of more than 50 yards during the game . On October 5 , 2008 , Prater converted three out of three field goals , including a 55 - yarder , as part of a 16 - 13 Broncos home win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . He also recorded four touchback s out of five kickoffs . His performance during the game led to him being named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 5 of the 2008 NFL season . Prater won the award for the first time in his career . Despite completing five of six field goals from beyond 50 yards on the season , he was only 25 / 34 overall ( 73 . 5 % ) , making him one of the most inaccurate kickers in the league for the season . 2010 . On March 9 , 2010 , the Denver Broncos re - signed Prater to a new contract . On October 17 , 2010 , Prater tied Josh Scobee for the eighth longest field goal in NFL history when he kicked a 59 - yarder against the New York Jets . On December 23 , 2010 , Prater was put on injury reserve by the Broncos . 2011 . On July 29 , 2011 , Prater re - signed with the Denver Broncos . Prater was arrested August 2 , 2011 , in Greenwood Village , Colorado , after allegedly driving drunk and hitting a parked car while backing up and subsequently leaving the scene of the accident . On December 11 , 2011 , in a game against the Chicago Bears , Prater kicked a 59 - yard field goal with three seconds remaining to tie the game . He then followed up by kicking a 51 - yard field goal to win the game in overtime , 13 - 10 . Prater is currently the most accurate kicker in National Football League history for field goals of 50 yards or more , having hit 14 of 18 ( or 78 % ) from that range . 2012 . On July 2 , 2012 , Prater re - signed with the Broncos on a four - year contract after the Broncos placed a franchise tag on him .