Matt Prater (5) kicks a successful field goal during the fourth quarter of the game against the San Diego Chargers at Sports Authority Field. The Broncos defeated the Chargers 30-23. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

Matt Prater has missed field goals in each of his last three games, including two misses in the Denver Broncos’ 17-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

The first miss came from 47 yards out with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter as the Broncos were down 6-0. The second miss came from 33 yards out on the Broncos’ opening drive of the second half.

“I think it’s no different than Tiger Woods on the tee box,” head coach John Fox said Monday. “He misses a couple fairways, the tournament’s not over. That’s kind of the approach we’ll take. He’s (Prater) made a lot of big kicks. It’s well documented. We have great confidence in him, and sometimes those things happen. You get back to the drawing board, you start working on your technique, and Matt Prater will do that.”

Prater was able to put the two missed field goals behind him. He nailed a 34-yard kick with 14 seconds left to put the Broncos up by 8 points.

Prater had not missed a kick in his first eight games of the season. He’s 16-for-20 on the year with two misses from 40-49 yards out. He’s also 3-for-4 on kicks from beyond 50 yards.

Let him get the failed attempts out of his system now. It’s better than six or seven weeks from now.

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Matt Prater (5) attempts a 53 yard field goal as punter Britton Colquitt (4) holds during the game against the Oakland Raiders. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

Peyton Manning and Willis McGahee are up for the Fedex Air and Ground Player of the Week, respectively, but who can forget about the Denver Broncos’ golden leg kicker Matt Prater?

Prater was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his week four performance against the Oakland Raiders. He went 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts (21, 43, 53), and 4-for-4 on his extra point attempts.

Prater is 27-for-28 on fourth quarter field goals, and he’s 14-for-18 on kicks from 50 yards or more.

That $13 million ($3 million signing bonus) four year contract that Prater signed in July is worth every penny.

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August 18 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) in the second quarter of a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks at Sports Authority Field. (Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

All the good feelings generated about the Denver Broncos’ backups during their preseason blowout of the Bears disappeared very quickly against the Seahawks on Saturday. The second and third stringers got steamrolled 21-0 after halftime to make the final score 30-10 in favor of Seattle.

Luckily for Broncos fans, the second half of a preseason game means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. Furthermore, Denver won on the scoreboard when the starters were in despite making some big mistakes throughout the first two quarters. Peyton Manning looked very sharp in the two minute drill right before halftime and led Denver to a field goal that gave them the lead. It would have been better had Jacob Tamme held on to a perfect strike that hit his numbers in the end zone, but by then Broncos Country had already seen what they needed to see. Manning looked like his old self in crunch time, and he also took his first hit of the year and showed no ill-effects from it.

Here are some thoughts from the preseason loss to the Seahawks:

• Willis McGahee only had a 3.5 yard average, but he finished with 28-yards rushing and a score. Considering his limited playing time it was an impressive outing and I’m expecting another monster year out of Willis.
• Tight ends Joel Dreessen and Jacob Tamme both finished with four targets and two receptions, but Tamme’s drops are becoming an issue. It will be interesting to see if he loses some targets to Dreessen going forward.
• Although it wasn’t a bone-crushing blow, Manning did get knocked down for the first time in 2012 and bounced right back up. Hopefully that will end the “first-hit watch” that has overtaken the media during training camp.
• The first team defense held Seattle to only three field goals in the first half. This was despite three turnovers by the Denver offense that constantly put their defense in a bad spot. So far this preseason the defensive starters have done a great job shutting down the opponent and keeping them out of the end zone. The one item of concern was Marshawn Lynch’s 6.2 yards-per-carry average on six touches. The interior defensive front gave up big chunks of yardage at times, and that is not a good sign considering some of the elite running backs that Denver will face this year.
• Brock Osweiler had a great chance to lock up the backup quarterback position, but he put forth a very poor performance. He ended up 5 for 11 with 38 yards and no touchdowns. The offense was completely stagnant throughout the second half with him in the game, so the battle for the #2 quarterback will continue on at least another week.
• The special teams unit looked great. Britton Colquitt punted six times and averaged 52.7 yards, Matt Prater drilled his lone field goal attempt, and David Bruton blocked one (and a half) punts. If the special teams unit can keep up this level of play it will give the Broncos a massive edge this season.
• Champ Bailey showed some flashes of why he is still one of the best defenders in the game. His deflection of a pass intended for Terrell Owens to end a Seattle drive was a big time play. Matt Flynn still has a lot to learn about what cornerbacks you want to throw at in the NFL.
• Manning finished the first half going 16 for 23 for 177 yards and 2 interceptions. One of those picks was off a deflection and Tamme dropped a certain touchdown, otherwise those numbers would look a little more impressive. What can’t be denied though is that Manning will have no trouble leading this team in 2012. His yardage total was impressive and he played better as the pressure increased. He still needs to find his touch on the long ball, but there is no doubt in my mind that Manning would have led the Broncos to victory on Saturday night if he would have been allowed to play in the second half.
• Preseason game #3 is on Sunday, August 26th at Mile High against San Francisco and it will be nationally televised. It will be a tough test against a good team and Manning should play most of the game. This game will be the closest thing we see to the real deal until the season opener on September 9th. Go Broncos!

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