Nothing went well for [Matt Gay](/team/players-roster/matt-gay/) and the Los Angeles Rams inside SoFi Stadium four years ago when losing 22-10 to the Dallas Cowboys early in the 2022 season.
Yet strangely enough, that game can be bookmarked as a key reason behind the kicker signing with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Rams had an opportunity to close the lead on the Cowboys down to once score. Having gone 8-of-8 on field goals attempts up to that point in the season, his kick went wide right from 51 yards. It wasn't the only special teams miscue that game, with a few kickoffs Gaye said he wish he could get back.
Gay sat back on the bench and observed Rams special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis pacing back and forth on the sideline, raising his voice passionately at the special teams unit in an effort to spark some energy.
And then he walked up to Gay with a completely changed demeanor.
"He just goes, 'Hey dude, you alright? You all good?' And I go, 'Yeah, I'm good,'" Gay recalled.
"I think that experience, for me, was just like, he cares. He's fiery. He's passionate about it, but he understands that football is an ever-flowing game and things are going to happen. Mistakes are going to happen and to know he holds me accountable but also he's not just going to rebuke or come and point fingers. I could see that he was angry, I could see he was passionate about it ... and that little telling moment with me and Joe, I knew more than anything he cared."