Vet Dawson delivers with 4 field goals
The way Sunday’s game was going, you probably would have bet your bottom dollar for the longest time that it was going to take one more field goal from kicker Phil Dawson to lift the Cardinals to a victory over his old team, the 49ers.
Dawson is glad it didn’t have to come down to this, although after going 4-for-4 on the afternoon, he was more than ready to bang home another one or two, if needed.
“That would have been fine,” he said, “but here’s an expert piece of inside information for you: When the game is on the line, throw it to Number 11.”
Trailing 15-12 after Robbie Gould’s fifth field goal of the game and facing second down from the 49ers’ 19-yard line with just 38 seconds left in overtime, that’s exactly where Carson Palmer looked – to veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
And on cue, after a 13-catch, 149-yard performance last Monday night during a loss to the Cowboys, Fitzgerald jumped high in the end zone, fought off coverage from Rashard Robinson, high-pointed the football and came down with the game-winning touchdown catch.
“It’s fun to watch a guy like that play, and that’s why he is who he is and will be in the Hall of Fame someday,” Dawson said.
“When the game is on the line and everyone knows where the ball’s going, he still finds a way to get open and make the play. It’s incredible to watch.”
Dawson, by the way, didn’t actually see Fitzgerald’s TD. He was warming up some 70 yards away on the sideline, practicing kicks into the net in case coach Bruce Arians had to call upon him again. Dawson, though, said he didn’t need to see Fitzgerald’s grab to know he would come down with it.
“Larry,” he said, “doesn’t drop balls.” The 42-year-old Dawson spent the past three weeks beating himself up, though, having missed three makable field goals in three games.
It took half the season before last year’s kicker, Chandler Catanzaro, missed his first three field goals. And the Cardinals released him because of his lack of overall consistency.
Did Dawson making all four of his field-goal attempts on Sunday atone for three earlier missed ones?
“No. There’s no getting those back,” Dawson said. “It’s been a tough couple weeks. It’s nice to contribute to a team win, and I’ll take that any day of the week.”
Considering there were nine field goals made in this game, it felt all day like it would take a three-pointer to decide the outcome.
“Yeah, the way it was going. It seemed like it was ping-pong all day,” Dawson said. “They’d kick one and we’d kick one. They’d kick one and we’d kick one. It was like we were down three the whole game, and that continued for five quarters.
“I just tried to stay in my routine and stay in the moment and be ready if my name was called.”
As happy as he was for himself and his team, Dawson had to feel just a little sorry for his fellow veteran Gould for losing despite booting five field goals.
“I have all the respect in the world for Robbie,” Dawson said, adding, “… But I once kicked six field goals in a game and we lost. So, I kind of know the feeling.”