Indianapolis Colts’ kicker Matt Gay returned for the team’s Week 2 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Gay had previously missed the season opener against Houston with a hernia injury.
Gay would make his lone extra point attempt and finish 1-for-2 on field goals, missing from 50 yards. Had Gay made that kick, the Colts would have only needed a field goal on their final drive, changing the complexion of that possession.
The missed kick hurt, and while it’s only one kick in Gay’s first game back from injury, the miss from 50 yards continues a concerning and inconsistent trend for him.
During the preseason, Gay would make just 1-of-4 field goal attempts, which included two more misses from 50-plus yards and another from 44 yards. All three of those misses were to the left, as was his miss this past Sunday.
Before the regular season began, GM Chris Ballard reiterated his confidence in Gay, and head coach Shane Steichen did the same on Monday.
“I have confidence in Matt, and he knows he’s gotta make those kicks,” Steichen said. “And we gotta get that cleaned up for sure.”
Even last season, 50-plus yard kicks created some issues for Gay. He finished the year making 33-of-41 kicks overall, with five of his misses coming from more than 50 yards.
Now, it wasn’t all bad from deep, in the Colts 2023 Week 3 win over Baltimore, Gay set an NFL record, making four kicks from over 50 yards, including the game-winner.
However, overall, the season was not up to the standards that Gay has set for himself.
“I feel like last year, for me, a bit of a down year by my standards coming off some good years,” said Gay during the offseason via 107.5 The Fan. “Had a lot of kicks that were right there, and again that doesn’t matter, kicking’s black and white, it either went in or it didn’t.”
As Steichen said, this has to get cleaned up. Of the issues that the Colts are currently dealing with, inconsistency at kicker doesn’t need to be added to the list.
After signing with the Colts as a free agent in 2023, Gay will be the fourth-highest-paid kicker this season by average annual value a at $5.625 million.