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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Tyler Lauletta

Cardinals Fans Had Good Reason for Praising Their Team’s Kicker After Missing Game-Winning FG

Cardinals Matt Prater Arizona (Organization) Marvin Harrison Jr NFL The Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals came up just short of a comeback victory against the Seattle Seahawks to close their 2023 NFL season, with kicker Matt Prater pushing a field goal wide as the clock expired.

With the loss, the Cardinals fell to 4–13 on the year, bringing an end to what has been a tough year for the franchise.

While Prater’s last-second miss was undoubtedly disappointing to some fans in the stadium who wished to head into the offseason with a good memory of the season, many Cardinals fans online actually celebrated Prater’s kick, for one simple reason: Draft position.

Had the Cardinals won, they would have fallen a spot back in the order for the 2024 NFL draft. With the miss, Arizona holds its spot at No. 4 and will pick this spring after the Bears, Commanders, and Patriots.

Given that all three teams ahead of them are likely to be interested in a quarterback, and the Cardinals have affirmed that they will be sticking with Kyler Murray, Arizona might be able to pick a true game-changing skill position player with the fourth pick: Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.

Some fans immediately celebrated Prater’s miss, hoping it meant that Maserati Marv was heading to Arizona.

Prater took full responsibility for his two missed kicks late in the game, and was clearly upset that his effort let his teammates down while speaking with reporters after the game. 

While it’s undeniably tough to shoulder the burden of a loss like that to cap off a year’s worth of hard work, Cardinals fans may take solace in the fact that at least this particular miss might lead to brighter days ahead.

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