Darrin Simmons speaks on Evan McPherson’s struggles

In the 2021 playoffs, there was no bigger hero for the Cincinnati Bengals thank kicker Evan McPherson. After a rollercoaster beginning to his career, McPherson hit game-winning kicks to advance the team to and through the AFC Championship.

With so many clutch kicks under his belt, fans have become spoiled and expect McPherson to make every kick he attempts, but that hasn’t been the case this season. McPherson is currently 11/15 in total field goals and 23/25 on extra points. While those numbers aren’t terrible, they are a shade below what you would expect from McPherson.

Lost in the blowout win over the Carolina Panthers was McPherson’s fourth miss of the season. With the game in hand, McPherson came out to kick after a drive stalled, but the kick was off the mark. After a miss the week prior in Cleveland, the questions about what the issue could be become louder.

When speaking to the media Monday, Special Teams Coordinator Darrin Simmons spoke a bit about the recent struggles, but doesn’t seem too concerned about the second-year kicker.

Simmons seems to see there is a problem, but sounds fairly confident in their ability to get things right in practice and get “Money Mac” back on track. In fact, Simmons shared a quote about McPherson’s ability to bounce back from misses and come through in big moments last season.

All signs point to McPherson getting things right, but it is something to keep any eye on following the bye week. The Bengals will certainly call on McPherson to win them a game this season, and he will likely be up to the task.