The Las Vegas Raiders' preseason opener vs. the Arizona Cardinals was productive, as Klint Kubiak's team learned a lot about itself. In some cases, that meant players breaking out and proving to be capable of big roles. In others, it meant players severely underwhelming. There was good and bad.
Unfortunately, some of that bad came from a fan favorite: Kansei Matsuzawa. That's right, the place kicker from Japan by way of the University of Hawai'i, nicknamed "The Tokyo Toe," did not have his best showing on Thursday evening. In fact, he had a downright awful outing.
And while it seems like the door has completely shut on his chances, at least to make the 53-man roster and beat out Matt Gay for the starting kicker spot, all hope is not lost for the 27-year-old rookie with an odd path to the NFL. He'll need a major bounce back week, though, starting at joint practices.
Raiders K Kansei Matsuzawa is hanging by a thread after preseason debut
During his first live NFL action, Matsuzawa flubbed his dynamic kickoff, as it came down both short of the landing zone and went out of bounds. This gave the Cardinals the ball on their 40-yard line, which is a mistake that cannot be made in the regular season, especially against good opponents.
Then, in his first-ever field goal attempt, Matsuzawa pushed the kick right, missing from 38 yards. That is a chip shot by today's standards, and for a player who was the beacon of accuracy in college, that is a black mark on his résumé, especially because his leg strength isn't elite yet.
Reports from the offseason program, at least early on, indicated that Matsuzawa's leg was getting stronger, and the team seemed excited about keeping him around, whether that was on the active roster or the practice squad. That sentiment may be in flux after Week 1 of the preseason, though.
Luckily for Matsuzawa, all Gay did was knock in two extra points, so it's not like the competition has been won. Gay still has to prove his worth, and there are joint practices with the Houston Texans this week and two preseason games left. Just as fast as he fell out of favor, he can fall back in.
But The Tokyo Toe is behind the 8-Ball now. He'll have to make a chip shot field goal just to break even, and do a lot more than that for his error to be forgiven. It was a big moment for Matsuzawa, and some nerves are understandable. But kicking is all about controlling those nerves, and he didn't.
In a worst-case scenario, Matsuzawa, who has worked his way into the hearts of this fanbase with his reverance of the Silver and Black getting him into football in the first place, doesn't even make the practice squad anymore after a rough preseason.
With another player, Canadian guard Niklas Henning, qualifying for the International Player Pathway exemption on the practice squad, the Raiders could choose to give him that distinction, keep another player and kick Matsuzawa to the curb. That's the cold reality of the NFL.
However, he has the power to change this entire narrative and flip the kicker battle on its head in the coming weeks. Matsuzawa can't afford to misstep, but he is not out of the running yet. Facing an uphill battle? Sure. But The Tokyo Toe didn't exactly take a direct route in getting here.
So don't expect him to go away easily.
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