Phil Dawson named NFC special teams player of week

By Darin Gantt

December 11, 2013

The 49ers were worried they were a kicker away from a championship team last year, and made a move to upgrade by signing Phil Dawson this offseason.

The move has paid off, as he’s been nearly perfect.

Dawson was named NFC special teams player of the week for his four-field goal performance in a win over the Seahawks. The last one was the decider, a 22-yarder with 26 seconds left.

But he’s hit 20 straight field goals, setting a 49ers franchise record. With that kind of accuracy, they’re probably not going to need to bring kickers in for insurance in the postseason, like last year when David Akers was shaky.