Kicker Matt Gay earned his keep for the Indianapolis Colts against the Baltimore Ravens. For his efforts, he also received national recognition.
The NFL named Gay its AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 3.
Gay made all five of his field-goal attempts in a 22-19 overtime victory against the Ravens on Sunday. He also made his lone extra point.
Gay converted on a 53-yard try with 1:09 remaining in overtime to give the Colts a 3-point victory. It was his fourth successful field goal from beyond 50 yards in the game.
With four field goals longer than 50 yards, Gay set a new NFL record.
Through three weeks, Gay has made all six of his field-goal tries and each of his eight extra points. Furthermore, 75% of his kickoffs have gone for touchbacks.
Last season, Gay made 93.3% of his field goals and went 31-for-32 on extra-point tries (96.9%). On kickoffs, 79.2% of his attempts were touchbacks.
Gay began his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, but the team waived him prior to the 2020 season.
About three weeks later, Gay joined the Colts practice squad. He then signed with the Los Angeles Rams active roster in November 2020.
Gay improved tremendously as a kicker while in Los Angeles. During 2021, his third season in the league, Gay made the Pro Bowl with a 94.1% field-goal percentage. During the postseason, he went 8-for-10 and made 11 extra points to help the Rams win the Super Bowl.
This past offseason, the Colts signed Gay to a contract worth up to $22.5 million, which is the biggest contract for a kicker in NFL free agency history.
With his Week 3 performance, Gay became the first Colts player to win AFC Special Teams Player of the Week since Chase McLaughlin won the honor in Week 5 of the 2022 season.
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