To put Prater in position to hit the game winner took precision and elite decision-making from Allen. The reigning 2024 Most Valuable Player connected on all five of his passing attempts on the Bills' final drive, including a 32-yard floater over the heads of two Ravens defenders and into the arms of wide receiver Joshua Palmer to get the Bills within Prater's field goal range.
Even before the Bills found themselves with the opportunity for the game-winning drive Allen, like Prater, McDermott and the rest of the Bills, never lost faith.
"No one on the sideline blinked. I mean, down 15 points, whatever we were, with five, six minutes left, staying with it, fans leaving the stadium, you know – you've got to play this game for 60 minutes," Allen said. "That's a really good outfit that we played and God willing, we take care of business how we're supposed to."
If football is a business, then Prater is a "true pro", to quote McDermott. Prater's game-winner, which split the uprights with several feet to spare, likely would have been good from much further than the 32 yards needed.
"I could never watch when we're kicking a game winner like that," said DE Joey Bosa. "So I was just praying it went in, and it did, and fireworks went off."
Like any true pro, Prater was happy that his coworkers had done their job to make his as easy as possible. When asked how far he thought he could have connected on the game winner, he smiled.
"Oh, I don't know. Right there was perfect."