Prater always considered himself an icy-veined kicker whose heartbeat stayed steady whatever pressure he was under. This year, he’s getting the chance to prove it — time and again.
Prater’s 51-yarder in overtime that sent the Broncos past the stunned Chicago Bears 13-10 on Sunday was his third straight walk-off field goal. It followed his 59-yarder that tied it with 3 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
He and former Indianapolis Colt Mike Vanderjagt are the only kickers in NFL history to have a 50-yard-plus kick to tie a game and then one to win it in overtime. Vanderjagt did it on Nov. 24, 2002, against Denver.
“Those were fabulous clutch kicks, both of them,” coach John Fox said of Prater on Monday. “He’s done it lately. He was in a little bit of a slump about a month ago and he worked himself out of it. We have great confidence in him really from any range.”
But especially from 50-plus, where he’s 12 of 16 in his career.
Prater’s teammates knew they had this one in the bag when Prater jogged onto the field in overtime they’d watched him boom 70-yarders during warm-ups, so 51 yards was a chip shot.
And Tebow just keeps making everyone else look silly. There never has been an elite athlete who has been doubted more than Tebow, and yet we will sooner see him light up a cigarette than gloat. Players love to lament a lack of respect (and usually it’s completely contrived), but not the guy whose abilities truly were denigrated. And not just by know-nothing radio talk show hosts and the dope pictured next to this column.
From Boomer Esiason to Trent Dilfer to Steve Young, one after another, the best quarterback analysts in the business assured us that a player like Tebow would not, could not, succeed at this level. Just not possible. He doesn’t throw accurately. He runs too much. He will get hurt. But the experts shouldn’t feel too bad. Even Tebow’s own bosses, John Elway and John Fox, didn’t see this coming.
Which brings us to the real reason the nation is so captivated by Tebow. Lord knows we have seen and heard athletes who wear their faith on their sleeves before. We’ve even seen great quarterbacks who use their place on the sports stage to spread the word. Rodgers is a religious guy. Kurt Warner was every bit as loud and proud as Tebow is, and he was even more of an underdog story — from humble grocery clerk to Super Bowl champion.
You know what the difference was? With Warner, it made sense. He could drop back. He could throw. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and an MVP who led the league in everything. We understood why Warner won games, and it wasn’t because he loved Jesus and Jesus loved him back. We had empirical evidence. Don’t remember too many games when he threw 11 straight incompletions.
With Tebow, it’s a little more of a mystery. He doesn’t look the part. He doesn’t fit the mold. Smart defensive coordinators were supposed to send him back to Gino Torretta-ville by now. But strange things happen when the game is close and the ball is in Tebow’s hands. As someone said, there is an “Angels in the Outfield” effect. Before he gift-wrapped Sunday’s game for Tebow, Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber hadn’t fumbled in 308 previous touches of the football.
One of the definitions of faith is “belief that is not based in proof.” In a strange way, the power of Tebow becomes stronger because it is so unconventional and so hard to grasp. He is not a great passer, but clearly he is a great leader. He is taking the Broncos down a road less traveled, and they are following with passion. Fox is coming around. Elway, too. So now it gets easier for Tebow. Now maybe they’ll take the reins off and just let him throw like he did in the fourth quarter and overtime Sunday. Now maybe they believe.
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