Rams kicker Matt Gay might not be as hip as Cincinnati Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson, but Gay responded well when a Canadian reporter asked him to name his favorite Drake song.
He slightly changed the rules of the question by going with Drake’s feature on Meek Mill’s song “R.I.C.O.”
“That’s probably one of my favorite songs I listen to by Drake,” Gay said Wednesday during a virtual Super Bowl LVI news conference. “Can’t go wrong with any Drake, really. But that’s what I’ve been listening to as of late. It kind of gets me just hyped up and, yeah, ready for the moment.”
The hip-hop music has been working for Gay because he made the game-winning field goals against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round and against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.
McPherson also played a pivotal role in why the Bengals are in Los Angeles for a Super Bowl matchup against the Rams. McPherson, the Bengals’ 2021 fifth-round pick, made the game-winning field goals against the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round and in overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
The Bengals tweeted “That is why you draft a kicker” after McPherson sent the organization to its first Super Bowl since the 1988 season. That tweet added to McPherson’s popularity as one of the faces of the pesky Bengals.
Quarterback Joe Burrow remains the coolest player on the Bengals, but McPherson isn’t far behind by the way he carries himself on and off the field. Burrow revealing how confident McPherson was before kicking the game-winner against the Titans also added to the rookie’s popularity.
“Looks like we’re going to the AFC championship,” Burrow recalled about what McPherson said before his heroics.
McPherson’s viral trick kick with a Gatorade bottle was also impressive, but not as impressive as going 12 for 12 in field-goal attempts during the Bengals’ three playoff games.
McPherson, the lone kicker selected in the 2021 draft, went 4 for 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Titans and Chiefs. He’s three kicks away from breaking Adam Vinatieri’s record for the most field goals made in a postseason.
Vinatieri, one of the greatest kickers of all time, went 14 for 15 in 2007 with the Indianapolis Colts, with his lone miss coming in Super Bowl XLI on a rainy field against the Chicago Bears.
Vinatieri’s miss in the Super Bowl didn’t hurt the Colts, but the kickers in this Super Bowl might need to be perfect for their respective team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday. The four games in the divisional round came down to the final second and the two championship games weren’t decided until the final minute.
“Adam is definitely a guy that I’ve looked up to and watched a lot of videos on growing up as a kid,” McPherson said. “I love to watch his run with the Patriots when he’s kicking game-winners in the Super Bowl. I think that’s every kid’s dream is to kick the game-winning field goal in the Super Bowl.”
McPherson’s success this season might lead to more teams drafting kickers. Initially, the Bengals’ decision to draft the Florida kicker in the fifth round was criticized, especially after McPherson missed his two field-goal attempts in the 25-22 loss against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5.
“A little adversity is always good for kickers,” McPherson said. “Just to see if you can kind of get over that hump. Just to see that I was able to, it’s a big confidence booster for me. My teammates have my back. I didn’t get one negative comment after the Green Bay game from my teammates or my coaches.
“It really means a lot to me just to know that they have my back and they know what I’m capable of what I should do. That was just a rough game and we’re gonna move past that and move to the next one.”
Gay can relate to McPherson as a former fifth-round pick who went through early adversity, but his team wasn’t as patient. The Buccaneers drafted Gay in 2019 and waived him before the 2020 season. He spent some time on the Colts’ practice squad before finding a home with the Rams and becoming a Pro Bowl kicker in 2021.
“He’s a stud,” Gay said about McPherson. “He’s had a great rookie year, especially in this playoffs. He’s been unbelievable. I can’t give him enough credit for what he’s done. He’s hitting the ball really well, right now. And his confidence is through the roof.”
Gay said he wasn’t looking for revenge when the Rams played the Buccaneers in the playoffs, but he added that it was a nice feeling to send them home. Gay had two costly misses against the Buccaneers and 49ers before recovering with the game-winning field goals.
Short-term memory and confidence are why Gay and McPherson have had success this season and this Super Bowl might be decided by one of their clutch kicks.
