Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson had a moment to forget on Sunday during his team’s thrilling clash with the Green Bay Packers.
In overtime with the scores tied at 22-22, the rookie – who had missed a potential game-winning field-goal as regulation time expired – had another opportunity to win the game for his team.
His 49-yard attempt initially looked to be heading straight through the posts, but veered suddenly to the left where it hit the flag atop the left upright before falling wide.
However, McPherson – who has had an excellent start to life in the NFL in his first year – began celebrating after seeing his kick go straight, high-fiving and hugging some of his teammates while the officials under the posts were signaling the field-goal was no good.
The 22-year-old told the media it was a “weird feeling” celebrating and then realizing he’d missed.
“Honestly, I was celebrating before the ball, I guess, curved to the left. But for me, what I saw is I struck it very well, and I saw it going right down the middle,” McPherson said.
“I guess you could say I know whenever it’s going to go in, and that was one of those moments, and so I was kind of celebrating with Kevin (Huber) when it hit a hard left. I couldn’t really tell you – maybe a big gust of wind caught it there at the last second. I struck it well. I’m upset about it, but there’s really nothing I can do about it now.”
He wasn’t the only kicker on the field to have his problems though.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby entered the game with a streak of 27 straight field goals.
But the 37-year-old missed three straight field goals in the final few minutes of the game and in overtime to extend the game.
It is the second time since 1970 that four potential go-ahead kicks were missed in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Crosby did redeem himself though, nailing the clinching 49-yard kick with 1:55 left in overtime, giving the Packers a vital victory at Paul Brown Stadium.
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“That was a crazy end to the game,” Crosby said. “The fact that we kept getting opportunities, you have to give it up to our team the way we fought there. I wanted badly to come through.”
The win puts the Packers on 4-1 after having won four straight games, while the Bengals fall to 3-2.
