The kicker has always carried himself with confidence – even with his misses, that has never wavered. Gay knows the kind of kicker he can be and has the stats to back it up; from 2020-2023, Gay was 20-of-28 on 50+ yard kicks, for 11th best among NFL kickers with at least 20 attempts from 50 yards or more.
It was just a matter of finally seeing one go through to get past the frustration of not living up to his own expectations.
“From there on, you just play free-minded,” Gay said. “You go out there, kick the field goal, jog off. There’s not a lot of thoughts in your head or anything like that…back in the groove, nothing’s clouding your mind.”
Gay went on to kick two more field goals in the Colts’ 16-10 win over the Dolphins on Sunday, from 22 yards and 38 yards out, respectively.
“We needed those field goals today,” head coach Shane Steichen said. “Credit to him…it was big.”
Gay was ultimately responsible for 10 of the Colts’ points on Sunday, as he also made the extra point after the Colts’ lone touchdown of the day. But it was that first field goal, for the Colts’ only points of the first half, that gave the rest of the team the momentum they needed to get the win.
And, just as importantly, it gave Gay his groove back.
“I just showed who I am,” Gay said with a smile. “Just got back to feeling like myself.”