There was a time that Seattle Seahawks fans loved kicker Josh Brown. The 2003 seventh round pick by the Seahawks was decent as a rookie but got better every season and regularly had one or two 54-yard field goals in him.
There was a time that Seattle Seahawks fans hated kicker Josh Brown. They used to, but they still do too. Brown jilted Seattle for the St. Louis Rams, citing money ($14.2 million), organizational differences of opinion, and ... family. He was married and had two stepchildren and wanted to be geographically closer to his father.
There is a time that millions of people all across the country hate person Josh Brown. That time is today.
Brown is in increasingly hotter and hotter water as more news is released about his domestic violence history with his now ex-wife Molly. He was suspended only one game by the NFL for a recent arrest and has played in the last five games, but won’t be traveling with the team this week because of documents in which Brown detailed his violent behavior. I can’t speak too much about the nature of his marriage or domestic violence (I am against it) but I can speak to football.
And it reminded me about how Brown choked in Super Bowl XL.
As the Seahawks had the best offense in the NFL in 2005, Brown led the NFL with 56 extra points (and one miss), plus five made kicks from beyond 50 yards. In his three-year career at that point, he was 7-of-12 from beyond 50 and 63-of-80 overall. In his postseason career total (which is almost nonexistent since he left Seattle in 2008), Brown is 18-of-21 on field goal tries.
Two of the three misses came in the Super Bowl.
Brown scored the first points of Super Bowl XL, giving the Seahawks a 3-0 lead with a 47-yarder at the end of the first quarter. But then at the two minute warning before halftime, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger scored a keeper from one-yard out to give his team a 7-3 lead.
Luckily, Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck quickly led the Seahawks down to the Pittsburgh 36-yard line, giving Brown a chance to cut the lead to one point going into halftime. He missed it. On the second play of the second half, Steelers running back Willie Parker scored on a 75-yard touchdown, making it 14-3.
Instead of 14-6.
On the very next drive, Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander, and Mack Strong led Seattle down the field to set Brown up for a 50-yard try. Something he had been fairly used to at this point. He missed it, and the score remained 14-3.
When it could have been 14-9.
Big Ben was intercepted on the next drive, giving the Seahawks a short field and they scored a few players later on a pass from Hasselbeck to (oh boy) Jerramy Stevens. The score was 14-10.
When it could have instead been a 16-14 or 17-14 lead for Seattle.
Imagine how much different Super Bowl XL would have been if the Seahawks had been playing with a lead going into the fourth quarter. The whole game plan changes. Maybe Hasselbeck doesn’t get intercepted on that crucial drive — He certainly wouldn’t have been throwing it on 3rd-and-18.
There’s a lot of talk about the refs in Super Bowl XL. A lot of talk about the Seattle offense stalling against the Pittsburgh defense. But how about instead a vote for: It was Josh Brown’s fault.
It was Josh Brown’s fault.