Evan McPherson is looking like the Bengals’ surest thing right now, and that matters when games get tight. After opening Week 1 by drilling all four of his field goals and all three extra points in Cincinnati’s 33-27 win over the Buccaneers, the Bengals kicker has pushed himself to the front of the conversation again.
Two of those field goals came from 55 and 58 yards, and the 55-yarder in particular was the kind of strike that makes a stadium sit up. McPherson earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the performance, and he also moved to No. 1 in Adam Fromal’s in-house FanSided Kicker Rankings by way of his Kick Value Added mark of 1.91.
That number edged out Ravens AFC North rival Tyler Loop, who finished at 1.62, and Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, who posted 1.12. McPherson’s rise makes plenty of sense given the way he’s been kicking. He has a Super Bowl-worthy rookie season on his résumé, and after a strong 2025 campaign and a sharp preseason, he’s carrying that momentum into the new year.
He was already plenty reliable last season, when he made a career-best 89% of his field goal attempts. And in Week 1, he looked every bit like a kicker operating with total confidence. One of his deep makes was described as a perfect, rising draw down the middle of the fairway, and the ball had more than enough distance to spare.
Fromal still has McPherson 12th in FanSided’s overall kicker rankings, but he did place him in the top five in his preseason hierarchy. That feels like a step toward where McPherson belongs if this run keeps going.
The Bengals already had reason to feel dangerous with Joe Burrow set to have a much better defense behind him in 2026. McPherson gives them another edge. If Cincinnati can cross midfield, he looks capable of turning drives into points almost automatically.
That could matter in a big way in Houston this week. The Bengals visit the Texans in Week 2 at NRG Stadium, where the closed roof means McPherson won’t have to deal with the elements or Texas heat. It also sets up a strong matchup with Fairbairn, and there’s a real chance Sunday comes down to one of them nailing a late field goal.
If it does, Cincinnati has every reason to feel good about its guy. Money Mac has been hot for a while now.
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Zac Taylors Postgame Message Should Fire Up Bengals Fans
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For Bengals fans, the timing matters almost as much as the result. Cincinnati remains in first place in the AFC North and now gets a Steelers team that always seems to sharpen the edge of the week. The pass rush was especially encouraging, with five different defenders finishing with at least five pressures, and that kind of balance is the sort of detail that can make Taylors postgame message resonate beyond one solid afternoon. [Read more 🡒]