Стивен Мэтт Брайант: Карьера американского футболиста

American football player (born 1975)
the American football player

Steven Matt Bryant (born May 29, 1975), nicknamed "Money Matt", is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Baylor Bears, and was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers in 2000. A Pro Bowler with the Falcons in 2016, he has also been a member of the New York Giants, Frankfurt Galaxy, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Florida Tuskers, and is among the most accurate kickers in NFL history.

Bryant was born in Orange, Texas. He played football and baseball at Bridge City High School in Bridge City, Texas, and holds the record for the longest field goal.

After graduating from high school, Bryant attended Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, where he was two time NJCAA All American and a member of the 1994 national championship team. He then signed with Oregon State University and later transferred to Baylor University, where he played in the 1997 and 1998 seasons and ranks seventh in the all time scoring list with 105 points (21 field goals and 42 extra points). Bryant's 21 field goals place him fifth in Bears history. He set the school record with a 100 percent success rate when he made 42 of 42 extra points.

Season Team GP Kicking Pts XPM XPA XP% FGM FGA FG% 1997 Baylor 11 23 23 100.0 9 14 64.3 50 1998 Baylor 11 19 19 100.0 12 15 80.0 55 Career 22 42 42 100.0 21 29 72.4 105

After not being selected in the 1999 NFL draft, Bryant signed with Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League on November 17, 1999, after the 1999 season, but he was cut on April 4, 2000, before the regular season began.

On January 9, 2002, Bryant signed with the NFL's New York Giants, who allocated him to the NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder on March 15. On March 30, the Thunder placed Bryant on injured reserve, and the Thunder cut Bryant on May 10. The Giants then reassigned Bryant to the Frankfurt Galaxy. Bryant never played for either NFL Europe team due to a quadriceps injury.

On September 5, he made his NFL debut against the San Francisco 49ers. He converted two field goal attempts and one extra point attempt in the 16–13 loss. In Week 3, against the Seattle Seahawks, Bryant was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. In the 9–6 victory, he was responsible for all of the Giants' points on three field goals. In Week 11, against the Washington Redskins, Bryant earned another NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award by converting four field goals and an extra point in the 19–17 victory. He converted 30 of 32 extra point attempts and 26 of 32 field goal attempts in his rookie season. He made his playoff debut in the Giants' 39–38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round. In the game, he converted five extra points and one of two field goal attempts.

In the 2003 season, Bryant appeared in the first four games before suffering a hamstring injury. During that stretch, he converted an overtime game winning field goal against the Washington Redskins in Week 3. He returned to the team in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Overall, he appeared in 11 games and converted all 17 extra point attempts and made 11 of 14 field goal attempts.

On July 30, 2004, Bryant was cut by new coach Tom Coughlin.

Bryant signed with the Dallas Cowboys on August 17, 2004, and was cut on September 5, 2004.

Bryant was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the 2005 season. In Week 16, against the Atlanta Falcons, he had a game winning 41 yard field goal in overtime of the 27–24 victory. In the 2005 season, he appeared in 14 games and converted all 31 extra point attempts and 21 of 25 field goal attempts. Bryant and the Buccaneers made the playoffs where they were eliminated by the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card Round by a score of 17–10.

On October 22, in Week 7, Bryant successfully converted a 62 yard field goal as time expired in Tampa Bay's 23–21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition to the 62 yarder, he converted two other field goals and two extra points and earned his third career NFC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination. The game winning field goal was the second longest in NFL history at the time, behind the 63 yard field goals kicked by Tom Dempsey in 1970 and Jason Elam in 1998. On October 23, in response to his 62 yard field goal, Mayor Pam Iorio declared October 23 to be "Matt Bryant Day" in Tampa, Florida. In the 2006 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Buccaneers' 4–12 season. On the season, he converted 22 of 23 extra point attempts and 17 of 22 field goal attempts.

In the 2007 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Buccaneers' 9–7 season and one playoff game. In Week 6, against the Tennessee Titans, he converted a game winning 43 yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the 13–10 victory. On the season, he converted all 34 extra point attempts and 28 of 33 field goal attempts. In the Wild Card Round against the New York Giants, Bryant converted both extra point attempts in the 24–14 loss.

In the 2008 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Buccaneers' 9–7 season. In Week 3, against the Chicago Bears, he had a game winning 21 yard field goal in overtime of the 27–24 victory. In Week 4, against the Green Bay Packers, Bryant earned his fourth career NFC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination. In the 30–21 victory, he converted three field goal attempts and three extra point attempts. For the first time in his NFL career, he finished in the top five players in total scoring, landing in fourth place with 131 points. On September 5, 2009, the Buccaneers released Bryant and replaced him with Mike Nugent.

Prior to the start of the 2009 season, the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League signed Bryant to a contract.

Bryant was signed by the Atlanta Falcons on December 1, 2009, to replace veteran Jason Elam. He appeared in five games of the Falcons' 9–7 season. In Week 14, against the New Orleans Saints, he had his best scoring performance of the season. In the 26–23 loss, he converted all three field goal attempts and both extra point attempts. On the season, he converted all 10 extra point attempts and 7 of 10 field goal attempts.

In the 2010 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 13–3 season and one playoff game. In Week 4, against the San Francisco 49ers, Bryant earned his fifth career NFC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination. In the 16–14 victory, he converted three field goal attempts and one extra point attempt. The last of the three field goals was a go ahead 43 yard attempt that left only two seconds remaining. On the season, he converted all 44 extra point attempts and 28 of 31 field goal attempts. For the second time in his career, he finished in the top five players in scoring with 128 points scored. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Bryant converted all three extra points in the 48–21 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

In the 2011 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 10–6 season. In Week 4, against the Seattle Seahawks, he had his best scoring performance of the season. He converted all three field goal attempts and all three extra point attempts in the 30–28 victory. On the season, he converted all 45 extra point attempts and 27 of 29 field goal attempts.

In the 2012 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 13–3 season and two playoff games. In the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, he converted all four field goal attempts and all four extra point attempts in the 40–24 victory. In Week 4, against the Carolina Panthers, he converted a game winning 40 yard field goal with five seconds remaining to win 30–28. In Week 6, against the Oakland Raiders, he converted a game winning 55 yard field goal with one second remaining to help the Falcons win 23–20. On the season, he converted all 44 extra point attempts and 33 of 38 field goal attempts. He finished a then career best third in the league in scoring with 143 points scored. In the Divisional Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Bryant kicked a game winning 49 yard field goal to send the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game with a 30–28 victory. In the NFC Championship, he converted three extra point attempts and one field goal attempt as the Falcons fell 28–24 to the San Francisco 49ers.

In the 2013 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 4–12 season. One highlight in the season for Bryant was in Week 13 against the Buffalo Bills. He converted a 36 yard game winning field goal in overtime of the 34–31 victory. On the season, he converted all 39 extra point attempts and 24 of 27 field goal attempts.

In the 2014 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 6–10 season. On September 7, 2014, in the season opener, Bryant became the fourth player in NFL history to kick a 50+yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation to force overtime in addition to converting a 50+ game winning field goal in a 37–34 overtime victory against the New Orleans Saints at the Georgia Dome. In recognition of his performance, he was named as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the sixth time in his career. On September 18, in a 56–14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, he converted a career high eight extra points on eight attempts in Week 3. On November 9, in the other divisional game against the Buccaneers in Week 10, Bryant was four for four on field goals. He also made two extra points which pushed him over the 600 point mark (601), making him the second player in Atlanta Falcon history to reach 600 points. On November 30, against the Arizona Cardinals, Bryant connected on a career high five field goals on five attempts in Week 13. Along with two extra points in the game, he had a career high 17 points scored. On the season, he converted all 40 extra point attempts and 29 of 32 field goal attempts. In recognition of his successful 2014 season, Bryant was named to Pro Football Focus's First team.

In the offseason, the Falcons signed Bryant to a three year contract extension. In the 2015 season, Bryant appeared in 10 games of the Falcons' 8–8 season. On September 14, 2015, Bryant kicked a game winning 47 yard field goal in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. He was responsible for 14 total points scored in the 26–24 win. On October 11, 2015, in Week 5, Bryant only connected on two of his four field goal attempts against the Washington Redskins. His streak of 28 straight made field goals was the second longest in team history behind his stretch of 30 consecutive field goals between 2010 and 2011. On October 15, 2015, in Week 6, Bryant connected on all three of his extra point attempts against the New Orleans Saints, becoming the second player in franchise history to eclipse 700 career points joining kicker Morten Andersen (806). The Falcons signed Shayne Graham to finish up the season in place of Bryant. On the season, he appeared in ten games and converted all 26 extra point attempts and 14 of 18 field goal attempts.

In the 2016 season, Bryant appeared in all 16 games of the Falcons' 11–5 season and all three playoff games. In Week 8, against the Green Bay Packers, he converted three extra point attempts and two field goal attempts in the 33–32 victory. In the game, he passed Morten Andersen for the franchise record for career points scored with his 807th point scored. Bryant was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October after converting 11 of 12 field goals and all 17 extra points. In Week 16, in the 33–16 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Christmas Eve, he converted four of five field goal attempts and three extra point attempts. For the seventh time in his NFL career, he was named as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. On the season, he converted 56 of 57 extra point attempts and 34 of 37 field goal attempts. In all, he was responsible for a career high and league high 158 points scored for the Falcons in 2016. It was the first time in Bryant's career that he won the scoring title. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, he converted all four extra point attempts and both field goal attempts in the 36–20 victory. In the NFC Championship, in the final NFL game at the Georgia Dome, he converted five of six extra point attempts and one field goal attempt in the 44–21 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Bryant appeared in his first career Super Bowl in Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots. He became the third oldest player in NFL history to appear in a Super Bowl, behind Matt Stover and Jeff Feagles. Late in the fourth quarter of the game, the Patriots trailed 28–20 and the Falcons had the ball on the New England 23 yard line. Well within Bryant's field goal range, quarterback Matt Ryan took a 12 yard sack, and they lost 10 more yards on the next play due to a holding penalty from offensive lineman Jake Matthews. The drawbacks forced the Falcons to punt and prevented Bryant from potentially putting the Falcons up two possessions late in the fourth quarter. The Falcons went on to lose 34–28 in overtime. Bryant converted all four of his extra point attempts in the Super Bowl. In recognition of his successful season, Bryant earned a Pro Bowl nomination for the first time in his career and Pro Football Focus named him to their Second team.

In Week 2, in the 34–23 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Bryant recorded a 51 yard field goal in the second quarter for the first field goal in the history of the new Mercedes Benz Stadium. In the game, he converted all four extra point attempts and both field goal attempts. In the same game, Bryant became the first player in franchise history to convert 200 field goals. In Week 14, in the 20–17 victory over the New Orleans Saints, Bryant scored his 1,000th career point, becoming the first player in franchise history to reach the mark. In the 2017 season, Bryant converted all 35 extra point attempts and 34 of 39 field goal attempts. In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Bryant converted all four field goal attempts and both extra point attempts in the 26–13 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

On March 5, 2018, Bryant signed a three year contract extension with the Falcons through the 2020 season. In the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football, Bryant missed his first extra point attempt on the season but converted two field goals in the 18–12 loss. In the next five games, he converted all 16 extra point attempts and all seven field goal attempts. In the Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he suffered a hamstring injury after converting a 57 yard field goal to help seal the game. He was forced to sit out the next week's game against the New York Giants. He finished the 2018 season converting 33 of 35 extra point attempts and 20 of 21 field goal attempts. On February 6, 2019, Bryant was released by the Falcons after ten seasons.

On August 31, 2019, Bryant re signed with the Falcons on a one year, $3 million deal following preseason struggles by Giorgio Tavecchio and Blair Walsh. However, he struggled with being consistent during the first eight weeks of the season. After missing two field goals in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks, the Falcons cut Bryant on October 29, 2019, and signed Younghoe Koo to replace him. He finished the 2019 season converting 14 of 15 extra point attempts and nine of 14 field goal attempts.

Year Team GP Field Goals Extra Points Points FGA FGM Lng Pct XPA XPM Pct 2002 NYG 16 32 26 47 81.3 32 30 93.8 108 2003 NYG 11 14 11 47 78.6 17 17 100.0 502004 IND 1 1 — — 0.0 5 5 100.0 5 MIA 3 3 3 47 100.0 7 7 100.0 16 2005 TB 15 25 21 50 84.0 31 31 100.0 94 2006 TB 16 22 17 62 77.3 23 22 95.7 73 2007 TB 16 33 28 49 84.8 34 34 100.0 118 2008 TB 16 38 32 49 84.2 36 35 97.2 131 2009 ATL 5 10 7 51 70.0 10 10 100.0 31 2010 ATL 16 31 28 51 90.3 44 44 100.0 128 2011 ATL 16 29 27 51 93.1 45 45 100.0 126 2012 ATL 16 38 33 55 86.8 44 44 100.0 143 2013 ATL 16 27 24 53 88.9 39 39 100.0 111 2014 ATL 16 32 29 54 90.6 40 40 100.0 127 2015 ATL 10 18 14 47 77.8 26 26 100.0 68 2016 ATL 16 37 34 59 91.9 57 56 98.2 158 2017 ATL 16 39 34 57 87.1 35 35 100.0 137 2018 ATL 13 21 20 57 95.2 35 33 94.3 93 2019 ATL 7 14 9 52 64.3 15 14 93.3 41 Total 241 464 397 62 85.6 575 567 98.6 1,758

Bryant participated in 2002 United Way Hometown Huddle by conducting a football clinic at the Highbridge Center for members of Alianza Dominicana, a local United Way agency that services families in Washington Heights. He visited the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point to participate in the Foundation for Hospital Art's Paintfest 2003. Bryant drinks a chocolate milkshake on the night before each of his football games. He also is known for squeezing his size 10.5 foot into a size 9 kicking shoe for games, believing that curling his foot to strike the ball in the same way that someone makes a fist with his hand before punching increases his distance and accuracy. Matt is married to Melissa. The couple has seven children and they reside in Orange Beach, Alabama. On September 24, 2008, their youngest son Tryson died in his sleep, age three months, apparently from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Despite that tragedy, a day after his son's funeral, he returned to play and kicked three field goals for the team to beat the Green Bay Packers, having kicked the game winning field goal the week before against Chicago Bears in overtime. After the season, Matt and Melissa established the Matthew Tryson Bryant Foundation to raise awareness for SIDS. Proceeds go to the March of Dimes. In 2009, Bryant was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast, in the museum's Sports Hall of Fame. In the 2015 offseason, Bryant gave some time to families from TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), a national non profit that provides care for families that have lost loved ones that served in the armed forces. He gave them a tour of downtown Atlanta and hosted them to dinner.