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Week 5 miss aside, Matt Gay’s accuracy a plus for Raiders special teams
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- Week 5 miss aside, Matt Gay’s accuracy a plus for Raiders special teams
(Photo by Edward Monigan IV/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Perhaps, a Cup of Joe would do the Los Angeles Rams some good.
That's in reference to the Rams wire-to-wire loss to the Buffalo Bills this past Monday Night Football in a game where special teams continues to haunt head coach Sean McVay.
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From both a coverage and kicking perspective (namely blocking up front for the place kicker), McVay's squad continues to struggle with the 37-34 overtime loss to the Bills the latest example. As the issues pile up, it's becoming abundantly clear the last time the Rams had a quality special teams unit was when Joe DeCamillis ran the group from 2021-22 (that first year was when Los Angeles won the Super Bowl with McVay at the helm, by the way).
Of course, DeCamillis is now the Las Vegas Raiders special teams boss.
And his kicker during the productive two-year run with the Rams?
You guessed it: Current Raider Matt Gay.
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Outside of Gay's double-doink where his 49-yard field goal attempt hit the upright after crossbar against the New England Patriots this past Sunday, the 32-year-old kicker regained the accuracy he showcased under DeCamillis in the 2021 and 2022 season (stats). Currently, the Utah product is 10-of-11 on field goal attempts (a long of 59 yards), and 11-for-11 on extra point attempts with a team-leading 44 points for the Raiders this season.
That point total is good for fifth most in the NFL (Indianapolis Colts kicker Spencer Shrader leads the league with 58 points heading into Week 6 action). Gay's 11 made field goals has him in a three-way tie for third-most in the NFL and his 91.7 accuracy percentage is above the league average of 84.8 percent. Those percentages are skewed five games into the 2026 season with 10 kickers not missing an attempt thus far.
Raiders punter AJ Cole III — Gay's kicking battery tag team partner — is his usual booming self sending 19 total boots into orbit for 948 yards. The 30-year-old's 49.9 yards per punt average is sixth-best in the NFL while his net yards per punt average (which includes both return and touchback yardage subtracted from the sum) is 43.3 which is 11th-best amongst his league contemporaries (league average is 42.2).
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Cole's 72-yard punt is his longest of the year (the Cleveland Browns' Corey Bojorquez paces the league with an 81-yard blast) and of the Raiders punter's 19 boots, seven have dropped or been downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line and two were touchbacks.
Cole is also an integral part of Gay's place kicking operation as the holder and has done well in that regard, as is long snapper Alex Ward getting the punter the ball to place on field goals and on punts.
That provides a window into exploring the Raiders' coverage and return units. We'll start with coverage of punt and kick returns first.
Kickoff-wise, DeCamillis' coverage group boasts the eighth-least yards per return average at 24.6. In total, teams have 21 kick returns against Las Vegas for 516 yards with the Miami Dolphins running back Jaylen Wright's 79-yard kick return in Week 1 the longest given up by the Raiders.
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The lowest mark in the NFL is 20.3 yards per return by the Dallas Cowboys (22 returns for 446 yards). The Tennessee Titans have the lowest kick returns against (five) and yards (129) amongst the 32 teams in the NFL.
The Raiders' punt coverage unit is allowing the fifth-highest yards per return average (14.0) with a total of six returns for 84 yards (a long of 27 yards). In comparison, the Seattle Seahawks are atop the league with three returns with zero yards allowed. The team behind them are the Carolina Panthers (three punt returns, 31 yards) and Buffalo Bills (three returns, 32 yards — also the Raiders' opponent this weekend).
The punt coverage unit had a gaffe in Week 4 against the Chiefs, but DeCamillis had a fiery retort to that:
Las Vegas' return units are both productive in both kick and punt departments, but as elite edge rusher Maxx Crosby is keen to say: More is required.
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Namely, the team must avoid fumbles on kick returns from here on in as the Raiders coughed the ball up twice already this season — one by running back Dylan Laube (Week 3) and another by wide receiver Dareke Young (Week 4) that occurred when both return men approached a traffic jam of blockers/gunners.
But when the Silver & Black hang on to the football and don't get it punched out on kick returns, the team boasts the third-best yards per return average at 28.3, just behind the Minnesota Vikings and Colts (both at 29.8).
Laube owns the third-highest yards per return average at 30.3 so far this season and has 10 kick returns for 303 yards (long of 53). Young has returned five kickoffs for 127 yards (25.4 average) while wide receiver Deven Thompkins has three kick returns for 80 yards (long of 32).
The Buffalo Bills' Ray Davis is out in front with a 32.1 yards per return average (he has a long return of 70 yards) on kick returns while the Colts' Anthony Gould is second with a 30.7 average. The league average is 26 yards per return.
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Flip it to punt returns and Las Vegas does own the fourth-highest average at 14.3 yards per return. That's a little skewed too, though, as the Raiders total six returns for 86 yards. Rookie wide receiver Malik Benson has five returns for 68 yards (13.6 average) while Thompkins had one return for 18 yards against the New England Patriots this past Sunday, boosting that team's overall average to 14.3.
The Minnesota Vikings are tops in this department with 11 punt returns for 238 yards and a touchdown (long of 86) with a staggering average of 21.6 yards per return. All that is compiled by Vikings wideout Myles Price — who also has 17 kick returns for 506 yards (long of 68).
More impact returns (and hanging onto the football) from DeCamillis' group will bolster Klint Kubiak's offense. And of course, Gay's performance does too, while Cole's punting helps Rob Leonard's defense.
A return to complementary football would a tremendous boon for Las Vegas — especially with a tough schedule before the team's late Week 13 bye.
