Cardinals kicker Phil Dawson boots his game-winning 57-yard field goal Sunday.
Phil Dawson is steadfast in his thought process – the veteran kicker has no desire to reflect on his season until it's over.
That's probably wise, given how his season is trending up.
Dawson's latest kick was a 57-yard field goal with a second left Sunday, points that pushed the Cardinals past the Jaguars, 27-24, on Dawson's longest field goal of his career. It also capped a perfect 4-for-4 day kicking field goals (plus an extra point), earning Dawson the NFC special teams Player of the Week award.
Dawson is the fourth Cardinal to win an NFC award this season. Wide receiver J.J. Nelson won the offensive
honor ifor his play against the Colts n Week 2 and running back Adrian Peterson took the offensive nod in Week 6 after running over the Buccaneers. Linebacker Karlos Dansby won the defensive award in Week 9 for his play against the 49ers.
For a while, it seemed a question if Dawson would be able to have the same. He missed six field goals in his first eight games, double the number of misses Dawson had in either 2015 or 2016.
But, coach Bruce Arians said, "he's very resilient."
Dawson has now made his last seven field goals in a row.
"I make it a habit not to evaluate a season in its entirety until it's over, but (Sunday) was sweet for our team," Dawson said. "We've kind of had an up and down experience the last couple weeks, and for the guys to rally around one another, to come out and beat a really good team today, I'm just happy for the guys."
As for whether he thinks he the big game can propel him the rest of the season, "that's the goal," Dawson said.
"Every game day presents its challenges," Dawson added. "This was a good one (Sunday). We're going to enjoy it, and then you've got to start the process to prepare for the next week and come out and try to prepare to do it again next week."