Matt Gay’s 49-yard field goal attempt against the New England Patriots struck the upright after the crossbar this past Sunday, a rare miss in an otherwise sharp start to his first full season with the Las Vegas Raiders. Even with that kick bouncing away, Gay is still 10-of-11 on field goals and 11-for-11 on extra points through five games in the 2026 season.
That line matters because it is not just clean, it is productive. Gay has scored a team-leading 44 points for the Raiders, tied for third-most made field goals in the NFL with 11, and his 91.7 percent accuracy rate sits above the league average of 84.8 percent. His long kick this season is 59 yards, which makes the missed 49-yarder look less like a pattern and more like an outlier in a stretch that has mostly held up.
The timing also matters because special teams is a broader evaluation for the Raiders, not just one kick. Under Joe DeCamillis, the unit has paired Gay’s steady numbers with strong punting from AJ Cole III, who has 19 total boots for 948 yards, a 49.9 yards per punt average and a 43.3 net average. Cole has also landed seven punts inside the 20 with only two touchbacks, giving the Raiders field-position help that goes beyond the kicking game alone.
But the special teams picture is not spotless, and that is where Gay’s miss fits into the larger review. The Raiders have allowed 21 kick returns for 516 yards, a 24.6 yards per return average, and Jaylen Wright took one back 79 yards against them in Week 1. Their punt coverage unit has also allowed six returns for 84 yards, a 14.0 yards per return average, so the unit’s gains under DeCamillis are real, but they are not complete.
That is the clearest read on Gay right now: one miss does not erase a strong season, but it does keep the pressure on the next long attempt. The kick game has been good enough to help the Raiders, yet the unanswered part is the one that will decide how the numbers feel next — whether the next 49-yarder looks like the start of a wobble or just the one shot that got away.
