As a Lions fan, it can be easy to forget the sheer value of having a good kicker. 2014 was a valuable lesson in that regard, as the kicking abilities (or lack thereof) of Nate Freese and Alex Henery cost the Lions games that would eventually be the difference between winning the division and coming in second to the Packers despite an 11-5 record.
Since October of 2014, the Lions have been blessed with the trusty cannon-leg of Matt Prater, who has had a field goal percentage a shade over 86 percent since joining the team despite his constant deployment from what many teams would consider to be outside of reasonable field goal range.