Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Cade York

Friday, January 3, 12:10 PM

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said that veteran kicker Matt Prater (knee) "will not go" in the Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival San Francisco 49ers. Prater suffered a meniscus injury in his knee earlier this year and missed the last three months as a result. The 40-year-old kicker only ended up playing in four games in 2024 before injuring his knee in his fourth year with Arizona and 18th year in the NFL. In the four games he was active, Prater made all six of his field-goal attempts (one from 50-plus yards) and was successful on all 10 of his extra-point tries as well. Prater will be a free agent heading into his age-41 season in 2025. Chad Ryland will close out the year this weekend as Arizona's kicker. He's bounced back from a tough rookie season with the Pats to go 26-for-30 on field goals and 21-for-22 on extra points in his 12 games with the Cardinals.

Sunday, January 5, 7:20 AM

Cincinnati Bengals kicker Cade York had a perfect night Saturday in Pittsburgh, converting all four field goal attempts and his lone extra point in a 19-17 victory that kept the Bengals' playoff hopes alive. After a brutal miss last week that forced the Bengals into a tense overtime against Denver, there was no such kicker drama in Week 18. The journeyman converted field goals from 48, 27, 35, and 23 yards, the last of which proved to be the game-winner as Cincinnati held on in the fourth quarter. Whether York gets the chance to kick in the postseason will come down to results elsewhere, as the Bengals need Denver and Miami to lose Sunday to make the AFC playoffs.