LOOK: Florida Gators celebrate Evan McPherson's Super Bowl berth
Cincinnati Bengals kicker and former Florida star Evan McPherson has become a franchise icon after his clutch performances throughout the season and confidence before and after hitting a game-winner against the Tennessee Titans. He continued to raise his stock Sunday with a game-winning overtime kick to knock off the Kansas City Chiefs and send his team to the Super Bowl.
The Florida Gators social media team celebrated the moment with a Twitter post.
In the game, McPherson went 4-for-4 on field goals and 1-for-1 on extra point attempts.
Evan McPherson was the only kicker taken in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Florida, a fact the Bengals are very proud of at this point. Cincinnati took him with pick No. 149 in the fifth round. Now his jersey sales have reached a status few kickers in NFL history ever have before.
More on Evan McPherson’s heroics
Evan McPherson came out of last week’s playoff game as the unlikely hero for the Bengals. The rookie finished a perfect 4-for-4 on his field goal attempts, including the 52-yard game-winner as time expired.
Quarterback Joe Burrow said McPherson did a couple of warm up kicks before the game-winner, then turned to backup quarterback Brandon Allen and told him: “Well, looks like we’re going to the AFC Championship Game.”
As his status as a hero grows, Evan McPherson’s jersey has become a hot commodity. According to Front Office Sports, the Cincinnati Bengals have sold out indefinitely of No. 2 jerseys at the official pro shop.
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During his three years with the Gators, he hit on 85% of his field-goal attempts, going 51-of-60 overall. He also made 94.5% of his boots inside 40 yards during his career. That success, along with a solid record this season, made him confident that he’d make the final 52-yarder.
“I would say I was (confident), I think that’s one of the most important things for kickers to have is confidence,” McPherson told Dan Patrick on his show. “My teammates had confidence in me.
“I had just taken my last warmup kick into the net. Brandon Allen was telling me, ‘You got this.’ Joe runs to the right, we take a timeout. I walk to the field and I turned to Brandon and told him, ‘Well, looks like we’re going to the AFC Championship.’ I didn’t want to go to overtime, honestly, our team deserved to end it there and get some rest, it was the least I could do.”