DENVER – The beginning and end of Josh Brown’s evening felt like what has become a typical day for the Seahawks kicker.
It’s what happened in between that left him scratching his head.
For the first time since the season opener, when Brown’s teammates were mostly responsible for a pair of blocked field goals, the Seahawks’ reliable kicker missed two field-goal attempts in Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. Brown was wide left from 40 yards out early in the second quarter, and a few minutes later he was wide right from 53 yards.
“We typically don’t have first halves like that,” Brown said. “For whatever reason, I was out of rhythm. I went out and had a good (pre-game) warmup, so I was just as surprised as other people were.”
In the end, things were back to normal. Brown made all three of his field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, including his fourth game-winner of the season. Brown’s 50-yard field goal with five seconds left gave the Seahawks a 23-20 win over Denver and represented his eighth game-winning kick in Seattle’s last 22 regular-season games.
“It feels like all of them,” said Brown, who has also beaten St. Louis twice and Detroit once with game-winners this year. “I love it.”
Brown’s fourth-quarter heroics weren’t limited to his kicking. He helped make sure that Denver return man Brian Clark didn’t regain control of a loose ball that Seahawks cornerback Kelly Jennings help pry free on a kickoff return. As Clark tried to compose himself as the ball came loose, Brown delivered a huge hit that left the Broncos’ man flat on his back.
“Everybody said they’d pay my fine if I get a helmet-to-helmet fine,” Brown joked afterward.
A one-time wide receiver at the University of Nebraska, Brown has more athleticism than a typical NFL kicker. But it’s his clutch kicks, not his occasional tackle, that has made him such an important part of the 2006 Seahawks team.
“Josh is clutch, he’s money in the bank, he’s anything you want to call him,” cornerback Marcus Trufant said. “He’s been getting it done for us a lot. Man, he’s a big part of our success.”
Brown’s game-winners have accounted for half the Seahawks’ eight victories this season. So despite the fact that he missed two attempts in the first half, his teammates knew the last kick was going through the uprights.
“Kickers, corners, quarterbacks, some games they’re going to be up-and-down,” Trufant said. “But when the game’s on the line, you’ve just got to show up. And he did.”
Coach Mike Holmgren just shook his head at the thought of his kicker winning four games for him.
“It’s unbelievable,” Holmgren said. “As he pointed out to me afterward, it wouldn’t have come down to that if he hadn’t missed the two in the first half. But he certainly has shown the ability to make clutch kicks in those situations.”
Thanks to his latest clutch kick, Brown wasn’t dwelling on his first-half misses.
“For whatever reason, it was supposed to work out the way it did,” Brown said. “And we won the game.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
