Super Bowl 56 Rams vs. Bengals MVP odds: Cincinnati's Evan McPherson with shockingly short price for kicker
Could a kicker finally win Super Bowl MVP? Oddsmakers are bullish on the Bengals' Evan McPherson.
A kicker actually has won NFL regular-season MVP – Washington's Mark Moseley in the strike-shortened 1982 campaign – but not yet a Super Bowl MVP. Might that change Feb. 13 when the Cincinnati Bengals face the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56 from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles? Bengals kicker Evan McPherson's odds at Caesars Sportsbook to win MVP are set at +6000, which are the shortest this writer can ever remember for a kicker.
Just for a point of comparison, in Super Bowl 55 the two kickers – Tampa Bay's Ryan Succop and Kansas City's Harrison Butker – were priced +40000 each. McPherson has the same odds as Rams All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and shorter odds than teammate and very solid wide receiver Tyler Boyd (+7500). Rams kicker Matt Gay is +10000.
The Bengals surprised many around the NFL by drafting McPherson in the fifth round last spring out of the University of Florida – most kickers are signed as undrafted free agents, and he was the only one drafted in 2021. The Bengals knew what they were doing as McPherson 28-for-33 on field goals in the regular season (not missing a single one on the road) and is 12-for-12 (4-for-4 in all three) with two game-winners in these playoffs.
He hit a 52-yarder as time expired at Tennessee in the Divisional Round and then a 31-yarder to walk it off in overtime Sunday in Kansas City to win the AFC Championship Game. The NFL record for field goals made in one postseason is 14 by Adam Vinatieri.
"We just need three more in the Super Bowl to break the record [and] two more to tie," McPherson said. "That's definitely something we're going to shoot for. We'll see how it goes, I'd like to score a lot of touchdowns in the Super Bowl. However we can get points in the Super Bowl, we'll do it."
The record for most field goals made in a Super Bowl is four by Green Bay's Don Chandler in SBII and by San Francisco's Ray Wersching in XVI.
Before the AFC title game, McPherson filed a trademark application for MONEY MAC. Smart move! McPherson's jerseys have sold out in Cincinnati. He might already be the most popular kicker in the NFL.
Super Bowl 56 MVP favorites from Caesars Sportsbook
- Matthew Stafford +120
- Joe Burrow +220
- Cooper Kupp +700
- Ja'Marr Chase +1000
- Odell Beckham Jr. +1500
- Joe Mixon +2000
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