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Phil Dawson was voted the
starting kicker for 3News' Cleveland Browns' All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
Author: Ben Axelrod
Published: 9:00 AM EST December 15, 2019
Updated: 9:00 AM EST December 15, 2019
CLEVELAND
— With December having arrived, it's not just the end of the year that
is near, but also, the end of the decade. And what a decade it's been for the
Cleveland Browns.
In order to
celebrate the 2010s, we're enlisting in your help to compile the Browns'
All-Decade Team. Each day, we'll release a poll on Twitter asking you to vote
for a particular position, in addition to sharing the previous day's result.
On Saturday, you voted Phil Dawson as the starting kicker of
the Browns' All-Decade Team for the 2010s. If one were going to make a Mount Rushmore of Browns players post-1999, Phil Dawson wouldn't only have a strong case -- he'd practically be a lock.
Signed
as a free agent prior to Cleveland's first season back in the NFL, Dawson went
on to serve as the team's starting kicker for 14 seasons. In that span, the Texas product became the
Browns' second all-time leader in points scored with 1,271, trailing only Lous
Groza's 1,349 points.
In addition to ranking first in franchise history in field goals made (305) and field goal percentage (84 percent), as well as third in extra points made (350) and extra point percentage (97.8 percent), Dawson made several game-winning kicks over the course of his time in Cleveland, including a 56-yarder to beat the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in 2008. As far as this past decade is concerned, Dawson made 76 of his 88 field goal attempts (88.6 percent), including 14 of his 18 attempts from 50 or more yards for the Browns between 2010-2012.
After
playing four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and two with the Arizona
Cardinals, he signed a one-day contract with the Browns to retire as a member
of the team prior to the 2019 season.
