Ever since Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson made a game-winner against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4, head coach Zac Taylor’s son, Brooks, had been asking for McPherson’s jersey for Christmas.
Taylor found it harder than he expected to find a youth-sized jersey of the Bengals kicker, because they don’t have the same circulation as Joe Burrow’s, Ja’Marr Chase’s or Joe Mixon’s.
Two days before the Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs and clinched a playoff berth, Taylor said he expected the jersey to be delivered shortly. Assuming it has arrived, this week ended up being a big deal for Brooks and a big deal for McPherson.
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McPherson made the game-winning field goal that sent the Bengals to the playoffs, culminating a rookie season that included an AFC special teams player of the month award, a franchise-record 58-yard field goal and three game-winning field goals at the buzzer.
“I felt pretty confident going into the season in my abilities to kick a football,” McPherson said. “But you could say I kind of surprised myself. I had high expectations for myself, but coming in, I didn't really know how it was gonna work, how it was gonna go. Just how the season's unfolded and how I've performed, I'm super proud of myself and proud of the team.”
With the kick, McPherson wrapped up a rookie season that was nearly perfect. He started it with two game-winning field goals, overcame the adversity of a missed potential game-winner against the Green Bay Packers and then became one of the best kickers in the NFL from 50-or-more yards.
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For nearly the entire season, McPherson’s leg strength was something he could count on. But the Chiefs game was a different story.
McPherson didn’t detail the issue he was dealing with, but Taylor said McPherson was dealing with “tightness” during the game. McPherson tweaked his pregame warmup, and his kickoffs weren’t traveling as deep as they usually did.
“Just some minor things we are kind of working through,” McPherson said. “I’ll get it fixed and get ready for this playoff run that we are going to make.”
Despite the issue, McPherson spent the last six minutes of the fourth quarter against the Chiefs preparing for the game-winning kick.
With 3:19 left in the game, the Bengals had 3rd and 27 from the Chiefs’ 41-yard line. McPherson said he expected a run or a check down pass to pick up 10 yards and create a more manageable field goal. Instead, Burrow threw a deep shot to Chase down the right sideline.
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McPherson said he took it as a compliment that the coaching staff appeared confident in his ability to make a 59-yard field goal with the game on the line. If the deep pass didn’t work on third down, McPherson was ready to kick the longest field goal of his career.
Burrow completed the pass, so McPherson only needed to make a 20-yard game-winner. After he made the kick, McPherson did the same celebration that’s followed all of his game-winners this season. Bengals offensive lineman Jackson Carman lifted McPherson into the air.
“You could say I've kind of exceeded my expectations or maybe the team did, but I'm just having a lot of fun right now,” McPherson said. “I can tell you this for sure, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I enjoyed college football. I'm having probably the most fun I've had in my football career.”
After the game, when McPherson spoke with long snapper Clark Harris and punter/holder Kevin Huber, the two veterans reminded him how rare these moments have been during their Bengals career.
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Harris and Huber were on the team for a half-decade of losing seasons. McPherson walked in as a rookie to a team heading for the playoffs. McPherson, who hasn’t had a losing season since his sophomore year of high school, learned another lesson from the two longest tenured Bengals.
“It's not always like this,” McPherson said. “You don't just come in your rookie season, have 10 wins, win the AFC North and get a playoff spot. This is not how it always is. They just tell me to enjoy it, take advantage of it and kind of just embrace it.”
COVID UPDATE: On Tuesday, the Bengals placed five players on the COVID-19 list: safety Vonn Bell, linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, center Trey Hopkins and offensive guard Quinton Spain.
Linebacker Germaine Pratt has returned off the COVID-19 list after missing Sunday’s game.
OTHER MOVES: The Bengals signed kicker Elliot Fry to the practice squad. With COVID-19 cases on the rise in the NFL, the Bengals now have a kicker, a punter and a long snapper on the practice squad ready to fill in if an issue arises.
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Spain sprained his ankle on Sunday against the Chiefs. Spain will miss this week’s game versus the Browns, but Taylor said he’s hopeful about Spain playing in the playoffs.
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