BALTIMORE − Evan McPherson isn’t just playing well for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2025. McPherson’s playing his way toward being considered one of the best kickers in Bengals history.

McPherson’s shown that throughout a campaign in which he’s 23-for-26, the three misses coming in windy conditions or from record distances. But he’s underscored the scope of his 2025 success over the last two games, and especially on Thanksgiving Night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Facing the Ravens at at a frigid, breezy M&T Bank Stadium, connected on a single-game career-best six field goals, connecting from distances of 31, 42, 24, 33, 52 and 42 yards without a miss. It marked one of the best single-game kicking performances in Bengals history.

In the first half of the eventual 32-14 win, McPherson provided four crucial field goals at a time when the offense continually stalled in the red zone in Joe Burrow’s return from injury.

In the second half, Burrow settled into the game but McPherson was still called upon to add two more field goals, padding a more-comfortable Cincinnati lead. By the final whistle, McPherson was 6-for-6 and, combined with two successful extra-point conversions, tallied 20 points in the game. McPherson has 96 points in all of 2025, so about 21% of his scoring this season occurred in the win against Baltimore.

“The offense picked it up in the second half with some of the touchdowns, and Evan McPherson coming up big with six field goals on a day that’s not a perfect day,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “It’s a cold day. It’s a little windy. I thought he hung in there and did a great job for us.”

Only one kicker in Bengals history, Shayne Graham, ever had more field goals (seven) and more points (21 versus McPherson’s 20) in a single game. And coincidentally, Graham notched both records against the Ravens (Nov. 11, 2007).

“Never. Never feel like I had the opportunity to hit six,” McPherson said. “Feel like it’s kind of rare… My leg is tired.”

What McPherson accomplished was plenty rare. Only 11 kickers in NFL history made more field goals in a single game. Louisville-native and former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas holds the all-time, single-game record for field goals (eight). Graham and nine others hit seven.

Six field goals in a game is a more-common feat, but still out of the ordinary. Only one other Bengals player had ever six successful field goals in a game. Northern Kentucky native Doug Pelfrey notched hit six field goals versus Seattle on Nov. 6, 1994.

McPherson’s 2025 success goes far beyond the Bengals’ most recent out. Five days prior to his Thanksgiving Night kicking clinic, McPherson on Nov. 23 nailed a franchise record 63-yard field goal at Paycor Stadium against the New England Patriots. At the time, the 60-plus-yard make seemed to underscore McPherson’s year-over-year transformation back into one of the NFL’s best at his position.

That sentiment was further underscored again in Baltimore.

Kicking is a specialty position in football, but teams with elite ones can have a decided advantage. McPherson is affording Cincinnati that luxury right now.

Basically, if the Bengals need a late field goal, the offense only needs to get the ball to the midfield logo in order to give McPherson a chance. Other NFL clubs need to get their kicker to their opponent’s 35-yard line or closer.

In 2024, backup kicker Cade York’s inconsistency forced Taylor to abandon field goals as a realistic consideration in some moments. Suffice it to say we’re a long way from the circumstances that necessitated York being a member of this Bengals team. Campaigns like this by McPherson give the Bengals the personnel stability to know they don’t have to worry about that aspect of special teams.

McPherson has it taken care of.

“It’s a lot of fun,” McPherson said. “God’s given me an amazing gift to kick a football and I go out there every time to use that gift effectively. We were just able to come through when we needed to.”

Where does McPherson’s Baltimore performance rank in Bengals history?

In Sept. 2014, former Enquirer sports reporter Richard Skinner ranked the top-5 single-game performances by Bengals kickers. The list was published in the days following a memorable day for former kicker Mike Nugent, the Ohio State product who hit five field goals in a Sept. 7, 2014 game (Nugent twice kicked five field goals in a single game, by the way).

Skinner ranked Nugent’s performance No. 4 on his list. Pelfrey’s 6-for-6 game was No. 3 and Graham’s seven field-goal outing was only No. 2.

Skinner ranked Pelfrey’s Dec. 24, 1999 performance No. 1 on his list, and maybe for the novelty of that game. Pelfrey somehow made two kicks in the span of three seconds to tie and then improbably win the game for Cincinnati. Here’s how “Skinny” described the sequence:

“The Skinny: In the regular-season finale at Riverfront Stadium, the Bengals trailed the Philadelphia Eagles, 30-27, when Pelfrey tied the score at 30 with a 22-yard field goal with three seconds left. Pelfrey’s ensuing squib kick was muffed by the Eagles and recovered by the Bengals with a second remaining. Pelfrey then booted a 54-yarder as time expired to give the Bengals a 33-30 victory. Pelfrey kicked four field goals in the game.”

All of this is subjective, of course. And Pelfrey delivering two clutch kicks in the final three seconds of a game is an incredibly rare achievement. It’d be hard to top that, and the same should be said for Graham at No. 2. But it’s very fair to say McPherson belongs somewhere on this list.

Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out for the Bengals and McPherson. The Enquirer appears to be overdue for top-five re-rank and update.