EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — For the first time in about a calendar year, the Colts get the kicker they expected when they gave Matt Gay the biggest contract a kicker has ever landed in free agency.
A weapon capable of relieving urges otherwise left unfulfilled.
Gay was perfect in a critical 28-27 win over the Jets on Sunday, making field goals of 41, 47 and 56 yards in a game where every point counted between two teams desperately trying to hang on on the rushing edge to the AFC playoffs.
“You have very few opportunities in the game,” Gay said. “You want to enjoy it.”
Gay put in a clinical performance on a day when NFL kickers let their teams down.
Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson, trying to keep the Bengals on pace with the Colts on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” missed two late field goals in a last-second loss to the Chargers. Chicago’s Cairo Santos had his game-winning attempt blocked by a Packers team that later told reporters that Santos’ low trajectory had been a point of attention all week.
Even Baltimore’s Justin Tucker, widely considered one of the greatest kickers of all time, made two field goal attempts wide left in an 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh that left the Ravens two games behind the Steelers in the AFC North loss column.
Tucker and McPherson have been stars in the league for a long time.
But both kickers are struggling this season, going through the kind of funk that has plagued Gay for nearly a calendar year. Desperate for stability at kicker after going through a wave of inconsistency once Father Time finally caught up with Adam Vinatieri, the Colts gave Gay a four-year, $22 million contract in free agency last year, the second biggest kicker contract of all. time behind Tucker.
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Gay initially made the decision brilliant.
The veteran beat Baltimore on Tucker Field last season, setting an NFL record with four kicks of 50 yards or more in one of the best single-game kicking performances of all time, in part by making 16 of 18 field goals in his first nine games in an Indianapolis uniform.
Then a hip injury struck.
Gay missed six field goals in the final eight games, finished 33 of 41 this season, then opened the 2024 season struggling in the preseason, suffering a hernia, undergoing surgery and missing two of his first five kicks, both beyond the field. 50 meter mark.
He took responsibility, citing a problem in staying true to his target line.
Gay was also starting to insist a little.
“The misses come from over 50, where I feel like I’ve been very good in my career, so it’s kind of frustrating to see those go way left or right,” Gay said .
Prior to his arrival in Indianapolis, Gay was 17 of 23 on field goals of 50 yards or more, then made history against the Ravens, but outside of that Baltimore performance, he was 3 of 8 on field goals longer 50-yard dash in a Colts uniform.
The tide began to turn as the calendar moved to October.
Gay nailed a long-range kick against Miami, rebounded from a miss against Minnesota to create another opportunity and started to get going.
When he completed a 56-yard attempt against the Jets on Sunday to give Indianapolis a 16-14 lead, Gay increased his streak to 16 of 17 overall since the Steelers game in late September.
“To see that one go by – I hit the ball really well all day today – it builds your confidence, for sure,” Gay said.
A confident Gay is a vital piece for the Colts.
Two of his field goals saved an otherwise disappointing drive Sunday. A failed blitz led to a 16-yard sack by Anthony Richardson, pushing the Colts out of a red zone opportunity, before Gay completed his 47-yard attempt in the second quarter.
Gay crushed the 56-yarder after Indianapolis nearly coughed up another field goal with questionable play calls, with back-to-back runs on second-and-10 and third-and-9 despite the running game struggling for most of the game. ‘afternoon. .
“I think those field goals are important,” said Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen. “Any time you can score points in this league, whether it’s field goals or touchdowns, you want to score touchdowns, but when you have an opportunity to settle for three, he stepped up his efforts in those moments.”
Gay didn’t need to score a game-winning field goal to beat the Jets on Sunday.
Richardson took care of the touchdowns that Indianapolis needed.
But Gay kept Indianapolis within striking distance, and mentally, he’s back where he wants to be, hitting with a clear mind, all blank as he works his leg through the ball.
“I feel like I’m going back,” Gay said. “There are times when you don’t hit the ball well, you start to think a little more than you would like. But being able, whether it’s good or bad, to just trust your abilities, trust the process, go for it, clear your mind and swing your leg. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing lately.
When Gay is in “blackout mode,” as he likes to call it, he rarely misses.
The Colts need him to stay in that space now.
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Colts kicker Matt Gay: Has he reached the milestone?
