LANDOVER, Md. – Josh Brown nailed the kick of his life Sunday afternoon.
Not so much the season-best, 53-yard field goal he converted in the first quarter, which sent his afternoon off to a near-perfect start. It was the final field-goal attempt that really felt good.
“I think that’s the best ball I hit in my life,” the Seattle Seahawks’ kicker said. “I really got a hold of it.”
Unfortunately for Brown, and for his team, that kick didn’t include the perfect finish. The 47-yard attempt hooked at the last moment and bounced near the top of the left upright, falling harmlessly to the turf as time expired. Instead of hitting the game-winner, Brown’s attempt forced the Seahawks into overtime, and eventually played a major role in their 20-17 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
“It’s one of those situations I’m not real familiar with,” said Brown, whose three-year NFL career had never before included a potential game-winner in the final seconds. “It’s hard to feel anything right now. Fifty-two other guys battled for 60 minutes, and I had one second, and it didn’t work.”
While Brown’s teammates were understandably upset, no one openly blamed him for the loss.
“I’d take him over 90 percent of the kickers in the league. He’s just good,” running back Shaun Alexander said. “He’ll hit two to win games this year, and we already know that. It just happens. He’ll hit many that will take care of (Sunday’s miss).”
Added defensive end Grant Wistrom: “I probably flip Josh more crap for being a field goal kicker than anybody in (the locker room), and yet I’ve still got his back. He didn’t lose that football game for us. There were other plays that went down today that we should have made.”
But for Brown, the guilt of missing the potential game-winner was a lot of weight to bear. It came as an unlikely end to a game that started with so much potential.
After passing up a 53-yard attempt a week earlier, the Seahawks decided to give Brown a shot at a long kick early in Sunday’s game, and it paid off. His faith-rewarding field goal gave Seattle a 3-0 lead in the first quarter and appeared to be a preview of things to come.
“The day started off great,” he said. “And then for some reason, it all just fell off. It’s hard to explain.”
Things took a turn for the worse on Seattle’s opening drive of the second half. Trailing 7-3, the Seahawks sent Brown out for what would be the first of his two 47-yard attempts of the game. Brown’s kick came off at a low angle, yet had plenty of distance. But it was wide left by a foot or two.
As Brown came off the field, he exchanged heated words with special-teams coach Bob Casullo until running backs coach Stump Mitchell intervened.
The next time Brown went onto the field, he tied the score at 17 with a successful point-after attempt and followed that up with an emphatic kickoff that went unreturned into the Washington end zone. Casullo was the first to congratulate him, and when the pair hugged along the sideline, it appeared to be a fitting end for the day.
But just a few minutes later, aided by an interception by teammate Kelly Herndon, Brown was back on the field in position to win the game.
This time, the 47-yard attempt looked like it was going to make it. But the ball’s path faded off as it closed in on the uprights.
“Honestly, the kick was perfect,” Brown said afterward. “I hit a good ball. Unfortunately, the upright got in the way.”
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