In his rookie year, Evan McPherson was so good that he played a big role in the Cincinnati Bengals’ Super Bowl run.
The kicker out of Florida made clutch kick after clutch kick, all the way through the postseason.
But he hasn’t been quite the same since then, especially last year, when he went just 16 of 22 on field goals.
This offseason, though, it looks like he’s back to being his normal confident self.
In three preseason games, McPherson was a perfect 3 for 3 on field goals, including two 50 yarders. He was also a perfect 9 for 9 on PATs.
So what’s changed?
In a video captured by Mike Petraglia, McPherson said that he felt “pretty good” heading into last season, making his kicks in pregame and practice. “Then whenever I’d get in a game, I was just kind of melting in a way mentally, not much confidence going into it.”
And so he’s made a big mental adjustment this year. Here’s what he said:
Physically, my body obviously knows how to kick a football. But my mind will try to play tricks on me. The devil works in mysterious ways. And so the devil will get in your mind and make you think that you suck, but in the grand scheme of things, I’ve been doing this since I was 13, and nothing’s changed. I just gotta put the ball through the uprights.
You can watch the interview below.
It looks like the kicking game could go back to being a point of strength in 2025. The defense, meanwhile, hasn’t given fans a lot of reason to be encouraged after three poor showings in the preseason.
Hopefully, though, Al Golden is really holding back his playcalling and the defense will look better using more complicated packages in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns on September 7.
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