Seahawks Kicker Makes Biggest Call of Game on Sunday
In the Seattle Seahawks nail-biting 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49'ers in Sunday's N.F.C. Championship game, head coach Pete Carroll made a gutsy call to go for it on fourth and seven from the visitor's 36 yard line which ended up being the go-ahead touchdown pass to former Washington Husky Jermaine Kearse.
Overshadowed by cornerback Richard Sherman's post game tirade, one intriguing story that deserves some notice is the influence kicker Steven Hauschka had on the outcome by NOT kicking!
Originally the Hawks looked to be attempting a 53-yard field goal to try to pull within a point in the fourth quarter. When Hauschka went onto the field, he noticed that the wind was blowing pretty briskly in the face of the offense and told Carroll that he didn't feel confident in attempting the kick.
According to Newsday, Hauschka said:
"I didn't really want to kick it, to tell you the truth. It was into the wind . . . I didn't think it was the right decision and I let coach Carroll know that."
"You have to be honest with yourself. It was the wind at that moment. Sometimes you can make that, but I felt the wind at that moment was into the face enough to not want to try that kick. I grabbed him on the sideline as I ran out because I could see the flags [on top of the uprights] and I told him: 'We shouldn't kick this.'"
The rest is history and the Seahawks are heading to Super Bowl XLVIII in February to take on the Denver Broncos.