Hawks shift into gear
SEATTLE – For the second consecutive time in the NFC West’s most competitive rivalry, the Seattle Seahawks learned Sunday that it’s not how a game starts; it’s how Josh Brown finishes it.
The Seahawks’ messiah-like kicker was at it again Sunday afternoon, finishing off another memorable rivalry game with a 38-yard field goal in the final seconds to deliver a 24-22 victory and two-game lead atop the division standings.
“I probably wouldn’t be allowed back in the stadium if I miss that,” Brown said after making his third game-winner of the season, and his second in two meetings with the Rams this year. “It’s one of those things where the fans expect it, the coaches expect it, I expect it of myself.”
For all the Walter Jones blocks, Julian Peterson sacks and Darrell Jackson touchdowns that have defined this season, Brown may well be the Seahawks’ most valuable player because of what he’s done at crunch time. With two game-winners against the Rams, and a third to beat the Detroit Lions, Brown has played a huge role in half of the Seahawks’ six victories this season.
“Josh Brown is a special guy and a special kicker,” cornerback Marcus Trufant said. “He’s been getting it done for us. He’s a key to our success. He’s been playing in a lot of close games and getting it done.”
Brown’s latest game-winner – his fifth since Oct. 2005 – may have been his most important yet. The Seahawks (6-3) now have a two-game lead atop the NFC West, with the head-to-head tiebreaker all wrapped up.
“We needed this,” Peterson said. “This gives us a two- or two-and-a-half game cushion. We just have to take this momentum and keep on going.”
The day didn’t start the way the Seahawks wanted, as the team learned that starting center Robbie Tobeck would miss the game due to the flu and then gave up a fumble and 89-yard return touchdown on its opening possession.
Playing without four offensive starters and three Pro Bowlers – quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, running back Shaun Alexander and Tobeck – the Seahawks came back to tie the score and take a 14-13 halftime lead on two Seneca Wallace touchdown passes.
As always seems to be the case in this rivalry, the seesaw battle saw plenty of twists and turns down the stretch. The Rams (4-5) took a 16-14 lead with a third-quarter field goal before Seattle got its first punt return touchdown in three years when Nate Burleson rambled 90 yards for a score and a 21-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
St. Louis took possession of the ball and marched deep into Seahawks territory before making a questionable replay challenge to wipe out a field goal. Rams coach Scott Linehan threw the challenge flag as his team snapped the ball and kicked a 35-yard field goal. Instead of the three points, Linehan got the call overturned but then failed to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Seattle 12-yard line.
“The idea was that if we had gotten to fourth-and-short, we would consider going for it,” Linehan explained of a third-down pass reception that was originally ruled incomplete. “Because if we score a touchdown on that drive, it makes it a two-score (lead), and it would be a pretty good situation for us.
“It didn’t work out for us because we didn’t convert. We certainly could have used the points at the end of the game.”
As it turned out, the Rams regained the lead on their next possession. Running back Steven Jackson ran over a trio of Seahawks defenders at the goal line to finish off an 11-play, 69-yard drive and give St. Louis a 22-21 lead. Rams center Richie Incognito was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty after the play, and following a failed two-point conversion, St. Louis had to kick off from its own 15-yard line.
Seahawks return man Josh Scobey returned that kickoff to the St. Louis 49, and seven plays later the Seahawks had moved 29 yards to the 20.
Brown calmly stepped up under the steady rain and kicked the game-winner with nine seconds left, without giving much of a reaction afterward.
“I didn’t expect to miss,” Brown said of his unemotional reaction. “I’m not shocked that I made it. You have to go out there expecting to make things.”