'I Know We'll Be Fine' - Bengals Kicker Evan McPherson Remaining Confidence in Spite of Recent Struggles

Jay Morrison | Oct 28, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals place kicker Evan McPherson (2) runs off between plays in the third quarter of the NFL Week 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. The Bengals fell to 3-5 on the season with a 37-17 loss to the Eagles at home. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – The frustration level is high, but so is the confidence.

Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson said “there is no reason for it to be low” when asked about his confidence after missing another field goal in Sunday’s 37-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I just missed kicks. It happens every now and then,” he said. “It just can't happen in those situations. I'm gonna work on it this week and get rolling back, and I know we'll be fine.”

Sunday’s miss was from 54 yards and would have given the Bengals a 13-3 lead with 5:08 left in the second quarter.

“I just pulled it a little bit and the wind didn't help me out any,” McPherson said. “I've just got to know how to handle that situation for next time. It's funny because I hit the ball about as well as I could have. But I think I just started the ball a little too far left and probably pulled it just a hair, and the wind definitely magnified it.”

It was his third consecutive miss from 50+ yards, coming on the heels of a missed 50-yarder at Cleveland that would have iced the game by giving the Bengals an 18-point lead in the closing minutes, and a missed 53-yarder in overtime against Baltimore in a Week 5 loss.

The one against the Ravens was the product of a dropped snap by holder Ryan Rehkow, but McPherson said nothing about the operation has been an issue outside of that.

“The operation is perfect,” he said. “I don't think anybody should be talking about that. Everything should be pinned on me, all the misses and whatnot.”

For the season, McPherson is 3-of-6 from 50+ and 8-of-9 from inside 50.

But McPherson is 10-of-18 from 50+ dating back to a miss at Cleveland in the season opener.

If his first two seasons, he was 14-of-16 from 50+.

He said he doesn’t recall ever dealing with a stretch like this, whether it be high school or college.

“Not that I can remember,” he said. “I just take it one game at a time. I don't really like to sit on the past. I'm really just looking forward to moving on to the next game. and performing well.”

In addition to maintaining his own confidence, McPherson said he feels the trust is still high with special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons.

“The conversations are really good,” he said. “They're really healthy. Just continuing to put the trust in me. They have all the trust in the world that I'm gonna go out there and make every kick that they ask me to do.”

Adding to McPherson’s frustration is that his pregame warmups and practice sessions have been exactly what he wants, but the accuracy isn’t there in the games.”

“I feel like I'm hitting the ball about as good as I ever have,” he said. “If you watch me pregame or at practice, you'd say I'd probably be having a Pro Bowl year. But it's just not translating into the game, which is pretty frustrating. I'll figure that out and we'll get it straightened up. 

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