Bucs K Matt Gay bounces back with historic performance vs. Rams

Heading into the final drive in Week 3, Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie kicker Matt Gay was 4-for-4 on field goals, including a 52-yarder.

Sure, he had missed an extra point, and had another one blocked. But the Utah product had no doubts about chipping in a 34-yarder for a big home win against the New York Giants.

Instead, the kick sailed wide right by less than the length of Gay's beard, and Bucs fans everywhere groaned a familiar groan.

Fast forward to Sunday, when the Bucs headed west to take on the defending NFC champs. They won a shootout with the Los Angeles Rams, scoring 50 points for the first time in franchise history in a 55-40 victory.

Gay made some history of his own, converting on all nine of his kick attempts:

Bucs rookie Matt Gay bounced back today by going 9-for-9 on kicks in 55-40 win over Rams. The nine made kicks is a Bucs record -- Catanzaro went 8-for-9 vs. Saints last year.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 30, 2019

One of Gay's field goals was a 58-yarder, matching one hit by the Rams' Greg Zuerlein earlier in the game. It marked the first time in NFL history that two teams had made kicks from that distance or longer.

Gay also ended up in a clutch situation Sunday, needing to hit a chip-shot field goal to stretch Tampa Bay's lead back to eight points in the final minutes.

He put it right down the middle.

Following the loss to the Giants, while many fans were ready to call for yet another kicker's head in Tampa Bay, the rookie's teammates and coaches were adamantly in his corner, confident that he'd get the job done the next time out.

Gay made it clear that the people in the building, the ones who believed in him despite the miss, were the only ones whose opinions mattered.

"That's all that matters: What's going on in this building," Gay said earlier this week. "The people that I work with every single day. My teammates, my coaches. That's what matters. Their opinion's what matters. All I can do is focus on what I'm doing, and the fact that I have support from my teammates and coaches means everything."

The rookie made them proud with his bounce-back performance in a huge road win Sunday.