In his 13-year National Football League career, 
Much like he did to open the preseason at the Green Bay Packers, Dawson kicked the game-winning field goal against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night at Cleveland Browns Stadium. His kick against the Bears (0-4), a 36-yarder as time expired, gave the Browns a 2-2 record in the preseason.
“The best thing is we didn’t go to overtime; I don’t think anybody wants to go to overtime,” Dawson said, as he was congratulated by long snapper
Even after
One play earlier, quarterback Brett Ratliff threw a screen pass on the right side of the field and Chris Jennings gained five yards on the reception. Jennings almost fought too hard for those yards as precious seconds ticked away.
However, the Browns got a timeout called with two seconds remaining, which gave Dawson and the field goal unit time to calmly set up the kick.
“It’s a situation we work on all the time,” Dawson said. “The coaches have a nice understanding of how long it should take. When they called that, I’m sure they communicated to the huddle what the situation was and guys did a nice job getting yards.”
During the preseason, Dawson made 7-of-8 field goals and handled all 15 of the Browns kickoffs. He also went 9-of-9 on extra point attempts.
With all that work, Dawson is looking forward to the regular season opener at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 12th.
“I need a weekend here to lay low and regroup,” he said. “Being the only kicker, I got a lot of work and I need some time to get my legs back under me and get ready for the real show.”
Thursday night was the fourth and final preseason game and Dawson can relate to a lot of the younger players who got the bulk of the repetitions against the Bears. He also knows what it was like waiting to hear about his future once the roster was trimmed down to 53 players.
“It’s an opportunity for the guys who haven’t gotten to play a lot and this is their one shot,” said Dawson. “For all the time we spend preparing, it pretty much comes down to this one game for those young guys. I certainly remember how it was for me when I was one of those guys. It’s a lot of pressure and to see the guys go out there and perform well, that’s a credit to them.
“It’s a nightmare. It was miserable, especially at my position when I was competing,” he said. “There really weren’t that many reps, so all the work, all the time, all the effort came down to literally, a couple of kicks. It still motivates me today to make sure I never get back in that position.”
MCCOY SETTLES INTO RHYTHM
However, by the end of the night, he had found his rhythm and several receivers en route to a 13-of-13, 131-yard performance against the Bears.
“We were frustrated, obviously, with the first play of the game,” said McCoy. “We turned the ball over and you never want that. That’s really unacceptable, but it’s just one of those things that happened. I was really proud of the group of guys that were out there to be able to respond to that type of adversity when they get a touchdown and then, our defense gets us a turnover and we go score.
“I’m blessed to be able to go out in the first half and start the game,” he added. “That was really pretty special and for a couple of series there, we were going against some of their ‘ones.’ To be able to drive against them and to score against them, give credit to all the offensive line and the backs. Montario (Hardesty) did a great job when he was in and the receivers caught the ball really well.”
HARDESTY WALKS OFF FIELD
His first playing experience as a Brown was off to a great start, 25 yards and one touchdown on seven carries, but an injury in the second quarter spoiled the rest of Hardesty’s debut at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Hardesty missed all of training camp and finally returned to practice late last week.
“You want to be able to see a guy, you want to make sure that he’s prepared to play in the opener and do things that he needs to do,” said Browns coach Eric Mangini. “You’re also concerned about the volume of work he’s been able to have up to that point. As we talked about it, we decided that this was going to be his last opportunity to get that work, so we thought it was the best idea to do that.”
DAVIS CASHES IN
With Hardesty on the sidelines, second-year running back James Davis handled the bulk of the running responsibilities for the remainder of the night.
Davis had game-highs with 15 carries and 66 yards. He averaged 4.4 yards-per-carry and also caught five passes for 53 yards.
On the Browns’ last drive of the third quarter, Davis took a handoff on second-and-five from the 20-yard line. After a 19-yard gain, he was tripped up by defensive tackle Mick Williams. Davis was a high-step away from getting his second 80-plus yard touchdown in the last two years.
“I just went out and made the best of all my opportunities and it just came to me,” said Davis. “Making defenders miss is pretty much my game. With some runs, I can make defenders miss.”
