‘Money Mac’ making Bengals ‘look pretty good’

Other nickname suggestions have included McPhearless, KickPherson and Legatron.

“It’s funny we have some people stand outside the gates when we’re walking to practice and they will ask me, ‘Which nickname do you like best -- Money Mac,’ or some of the (other) ones,” McPherson said. If I had to chose, I kind of like Money Mac. It’s kind of catchy and kind of has a nice ring to it you could say. That’s kind of what some of the guys call me.”

“Tell the announcers that I no longer go by Evan it’s just Money Mac now,” he added with a laugh.

McPherson was definitely “money” for the Bengals as the offense got off to a slow start. He went 4-for-4 overall on field goal attempts with his shortest attempt being 47 yards for the final points of the game with 1:04 left.

Practice last Thursday was an especially good one for McPherson, and he said he went into the game feeling “super confident,” especially knowing the Raiders play in a dome so wind wouldn’t be a factor. One thing he hadn’t considered was the slippery turf, but he had a good pre-game warmup with field goals and kickoffs and figured out how to adjust to avoid issues.

“I had one in pre-game when the turf shifted under me, and so I was learning from that, scoot up, slow up,” McPherson said. “Just making sure I’m under control, under balance. I knew if I got my plant foot in the ground there was a pretty good chance it would go through. It came down to figuring out the turf pre-game.”

The Bengals were glad he did. They led just 10-6 at halftime and the offense didn’t get going until late in the third quarter.

“He was able to be that spark for us until the dam eventually broke, and we were able to pull away with it,” Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “If he doesn’t make those field goals, it’s a much different ballgame from a mentality and momentum standpoint. Having that ability to be able to fall back on that at such a young age, I’m just really happy he’s on our team.”

Most kickers don’t get a chance to even try three 50-plus yarders in a game, so McPherson knew he had done something special but he wasn’t aware until later that no one in franchise history had ever done it before and that only one former Bengals kicker had even made three of them in a season.

McPherson is 6-for-7 on 50-yard field goal attempts this season, only missing a 57 yarder in an overtime loss to Green Bay in windy conditions. He hit the upright on that one, but said in normal weather or indoors, a 50-yarder should be more standard.

Conditions will start changing as cold weather has now arrived in Cincinnati, and that’s something new for McPherson. He grew up in the south – born and raised in Fort Payne, Ala., – and he kicked at the University of Florida.

McPherson said his coldest game was probably in high school when the season was wrapping up in early November and temperatures got to the low 40s. There was snow on the ground before one game in college at Missouri, but by the time the game started it ended up being pretty warm, he said.

Early forecasts for Sunday’s game at home against the Steelers (5-4-1) show a high of 43.

“It’s obviously getting colder here in Cincinnati, so I get to practice kicking in the cold a lot because obviously we kick outdoors every single day,” McPherson said. “… I’ve heard kickers say it before, embracing the weather rather than really shying away from it or worrying about it. So, that’s what I’m really going to try and do, whether it’s a snow game or a rain game that’s freezing. I’m just going to go out there and embrace it and have fun with it rather than really worrying about the weather.”

With the Bengals heading into the thick of a playoff race, now second in the AFC North but in the picture for a wild-card spot with seven games left, McPherson has a chance to really make an impact. He’s an asset that could be a difference maker in big games.

“It’s nice to be in the NFL and expect your kicker to make those 50-yarders and some that are just above that,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “You do have confidence when he lines up anywhere from 54 to 53 to 51 to 57 that he’s going to make it. We know it’s not always going to be perfect, but we’ve got a ton of confidence in him. He’s got a ton of confidence in himself. … In the meat of the game a deep miss could put your defense in a bad spot so we’re always trying to be mindful of that. I trust him to make them all and he usually makes us look pretty good.”

SUNDAY’S GAME

Steelers at Bengals, 1 p.m., CBS, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7