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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kick in the pants


Seahawks kicker Josh Brown (3) celebrates with teammates after his game-winning 50-yard field goal as time expired. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks had 12 possessions that added up to two interceptions, three points and nine punts. They were down to their fourth, fifth and six receivers.

They were going against Dallas, one of the best defenses in the NFL and a team responsible for a crushing Seahawks loss during the 2004 season. Shaun Alexander was accumulating feet, not yards against a rugged defense. Matt Hasselbeck was faring no better against the Cowboys secondary.

For 58 minutes, it had the feeling of another golden opportunity passing the Seahawks by, like so many games in this franchise’s history. But all that gave away to two mind-blowing minutes that saw Seattle do everything right, capped by Josh Brown’s 50-yard field goal on the final play for an improbable 13-10 victory Sunday at waterlogged Qwest Field.

All it took was a fortunate bounce or two, some fingertip catches, a timely interception and Brown’s clutch kick, which sent most of the 67,046 into delirium. Brown probably didn’t notice the frenzy in the stands, having chucked his helmet 20 yards away as a swarm of celebrating teammates converged on him near midfield.

It was sweet redemption for Brown, who missed a game-winning field-goal attempt against Washington in Week Four.

“The moment I hit it I knew,” Brown said. “Everyone battled and played to the very last second.”

Seattle improved to 5-2 entering a bye week. Dallas dropped to 4-3.

The Seahawks, stonewalled by the Cowboys’ aggressive 3-4 defense and sure tackling, appeared to be done when Hasselbeck was intercepted by Roy Williams deep in Seattle territory with 3:04 remaining.

But Seattle held, forcing Dallas to settle for a field goal and a 10-3 lead. The Seahawks took over at their 20 with 2:01 remaining. They have been without receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram for a couple of weeks, and they lost Joe Jurevicius, who had a team-high six receptions, earlier in the fourth quarter to a shoulder stinger, courtesy of a crushing hit by Williams.

Enter receivers Jerheme Urban and D.J. Hackett and tight ends Jerramy Stevens and Ryan Hannam. Hasselbeck first hit Urban for 21 yards and then Stevens for 22. Dallas was flagged for pass interference, moving the ball to the Cowboys’ 25.

Alexander finally found some running room and picked up 11 yards, moving him past Chris Warren into first place on the team’s all-time rushing list. Hackett made a fully extended catch on the sidelines for 13 yards. From the 1, Alexander was stuffed for no gain before Hasselbeck faked a handoff to Alexander and hit a sliding Hannam in the end zone.

“Shaun’s so productive near the goal line it is hard not get him the ball,” Hannam said. “Sometimes you get up against a team and they know what you want to do and they really pack it in there. You have to counter with something else.”

Brown’s PAT tied it, but the euphoria didn’t last long. Dallas returned the kickoff to the 41 and still had 33 seconds remaining. On third down, quarterback Drew Bledsoe tried to throw a sideline route to Terry Glenn, but cornerback Jordan Babineaux was stationed in front of Glenn and made an easy interception.

His 25-yard return gave Seattle the ball at the Cowboys’ 33 with five seconds remaining.

“I thought I had thrown the ball high enough to get it over (Babineaux), but I didn’t,” said Bledsoe, the former Washington State Cougar. “Obviously it’s a major league mistake on my part. I should have thrown the ball out of bounds there and played for overtime.”

Said Babineaux: “He threw it right to me.”

Dallas had the upper hand most of the game, but didn’t take advantage of several chances to pad its lead. A key sequence came when Seattle punt returner Jimmy Williams fumbled, giving Dallas the ball at Seattle’s 9 early in the fourth quarter.

Two plays later, Bledsoe was sacked but it appeared it wouldn’t matter with a penalty flag thrown in the end zone. However, officials convened and ruled that safety Marquand Manuel wasn’t guilty of illegal contact, even though replays showed he tripped tight end Jason Whiten.

Jose Cortez then missed a 29-yard field goal.

“They said the defender slipped down,” Dallas coach Bill Parcells said. “But we had our chances after that.”

When the Cowboys didn’t take advantage of those chances, Seattle capitalized.

“To come back and fight like that…” offensive tackle Walter Jones said.

“The defense played great. As an offense we didn’t put up the numbers, but when it counted we came down with a drive to tie it up.”

Babineaux and Brown took care of the rest.

“I have been here three years and I don’t really remember anything like this in the past,” said Brown, who made a 55-yard field goal to narrow Dallas’ lead to 7-3 just before halftime. “I hit a game-winner in my rookie year but it wasn’t anything like that. This was special.”