The Cincinnati Bengals lost what felt like a must-win game on Sunday night when they fell to the Los Angeles Chargers after two critical missed field goals from kicker Evan McPherson. And it sounds like teammate Ja’Marr Chase is not particularly happy with the misses.
Evan McPherson missed a 48-yard field goal and a 51-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, both of which would have given the Bengals a late 30-27 lead.
After the game, star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was asked about his message for McPherson.
Chase indicated that he did not say anything to McPherson directly, but called him out a bit as he made it pretty clear that he felt McPherson let the team down in the key moments.
“But he knows to make those kicks,” Chase said according to Pro Football Talk. “That’s why we paid him those bucks — to make those kicks in crunch time.”
McPherson just signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension with the team this offseason, but so far this has been the worst season of his career.
Typically one of the most accurate kickers in the league, McPherson has hit just 71.4 percent of his kicks this year.
Clearly, that is not what the team hoped when they gave him a long-term contract.
Still, the Bengals clearly have a lot of faith in him, especially considering his history as one of the most clutch kickers in the game over the past few seasons.
We’ll have to see whether or not McPherson can bounce back from his struggles.
