Philip Drury Dawson (born January 23, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 years. Before that he was an All-American college football player for the Texas Longhorns. He signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 1998 and spent a season on the Patriots practice squad. He played most of his career with the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2012 where he was a Pro Bowler, and has the record for most field goals made for the franchise, passing Hall of Famer Lou Groza in 2010. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.
Early life
Dawson was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, but later moved to Dallas, Texas.
He started kicking in middle school when he was one of few players with soccer experience. He attended Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas from 1989 to 1993 and was a letterman in football. As a senior, Dawson was a starter at both kicker and offensive tackle until hurting his knee in a preseason scrimmage. Dawson thought that he might have had to have season-ending surgery, but he gutted it out, stuck to kicking, and was named as an All-American and the Southwest Region Offensive Player of the Year by SuperPrep. In a 1992 playoff game at Texas Stadium against Nacogdoches High School, he kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to beat Nacogdoches 31–28 and Lake Highlands went as far as the Regional quarterfinals where they lost to Temple.
College career
Dawson attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a four-year letterman in football from 1994 to 1997 and earned a B.A. in political science.
After redshirting his freshman year, Dawson scored 80 points and went a perfect 38 for 38 on extra points, the 2nd most in a single season without missing in school history at the time, in the 1994 season. He continued his streak into his sophomore year and tied a school record with 54 consecutive extra points made. He also had 14 consecutive made field goals, the 2nd most for a freshman in school history. Early in the season, he kicked his first of 9 career 50+ yard field goals with a 50 yarder against Pittsburgh. He was named first team All-Southwest Conference, led the conference in field goal accuracy and helped the Longhorns win a share of the Southwest Conference Championship and then win the 1994 Sun Bowl. As a sophomore, Dawson led the Longhorns in scoring, helping them to win the Southwest Conference Championship outright and go to the Sugar Bowl. Though he only played in the Southwest Conference for two years, he is 19th all time for extra point attempts and 17th for extra points made.
In his junior year, Dawson scored 108 points, the second most in a season, and the most ever by a placekicker, in school history at the time. Against Oklahoma State, he scored 17 points setting a school record that would last until 2023. He led the team in scoring for the 3rd consecutive year and at the Fiesta Bowl he tied the school record for field goals in a bowl game (3). He led the Big 12 in extra point and field goal attempts; in extra points and field goals made adn in kicking points. Against Rutgers he kicked a college career long 54 yard field goal, one of two 50-yard or longer field goals he had that day and part of a streak of six straight 50-yard+ field goals without a miss - a school record at the time.
In 2012 he was entered into the Longhorn Hall of Honor.
Professional career
Oakland Raiders
Though considered a potential late round pick, Dawson went undrafted in the 1998 NFL draft. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders five days after the draft and waived by him after their second preseason game in August in which he missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, but made an extra point.
New England Patriots
He was picked up by the New England Patriots, to fill in for an injured Adam Vinatieri, two days after being cut by the Raiders. He played for them in their final preseason game kicking a 27-yard FG and 3 extra points and was then waived the next day. He was immediately signed to the practice squad, out of concern for Vinatieri's health, but never appeared in a game for them.
Cleveland Browns
thumb|left|Dawson in 2011
The Cleveland Browns signed Dawson as a free agent in March 1999, and he remained with the team for 14 years until he joined the San Francisco 49ers in 2013. It's tied for the 2nd longest consecutive tenure in Browns history.
In 2000 he kicked a game winning field goal against Pittsburgh to give the Browns their first home win at the new Browns Stadium and their first at home in 5 years.
During the 2003 season he broke Matt Stover's franchise record for most consecutive FGs made (27). In week 14 he broke his arm making a tackle and still finished the game, but missed the last 3 games of the season.
By 2004, Dawson had kicked at least 6 game-winning field goals over his career.
In 2007 against the Oakland Raiders he had a potential game-winning field goal blocked; but two months later he kicked a 51-yard field goal, that hit both the upright and the stanchion and was originally ruled "no good" (and led to the "Phil Dawson Rule"), to take the Browns to overtime before also hitting the 33-yard game winner.he finished 8th for extra point attempts, 9th for extra points made and 10th in scoring in the NFL and was named 2nd team All-Pro by the AP. His 120 points was the 2nd most ever by a Brown at that point. It was his 4th season with 100 points or more and set the Browns record.
Dawson would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2010 season, but the Browns placed the franchise tag on him on July 20th, 2011 instead, keeping him for the 2011 season. He was given the franchise tag again in March 2012.
During the 2011 season he broke his own franchise records for most consecutive games with a field goal(23) and most consecutive field goals made (29).
When he left the Browns to play for the 49ers in 2013, he was the only player left from the "original" 1999 Browns squad.
Dawson holds the Browns record for most field goals (305), most field goals in a game (6), most consecutive field goals made (29), most consecutive games with a field goal (23), highest field goal percentage (84%) and highest field goal percentage in a season (93.5%). He finished his career with the Browns with the 2nd most points in Browns history and 3rd for both career games as a Brown and for PATs by a Brown.
In 2013 Dawson went 32 for 36 on filed goals and 42 of 42 for extra points playing for the 49ers on what would be the most successful team of his career. He made 27 consecutive field goals, a franchise record at the time, until the streak was snapped by a 24-yard field goal miss against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17 - a game in which he later kicked a then career-long 56 yarder (the 2nd longest in franchise history at the time) and a 40 yard game-winner. On September 26, 2013, Dawson attempted and missed a 71-yard fair catch kick in the last seconds of the second quarter of a game against the St. Louis Rams; the third longest field-goal attempt in NFL history. Dawson finished his first year in San Francisco with the second-most points (140) and field goals (32-of-36) in a season in the team's history. his points scored, FGs made and XPs made (44) were all career highs. Against New Orleans that season he kicked a field goal to get the 49ers into overtime and the game winner.
In 2015, handed kickoff duties to Bradley Pinion, but returned to kick-offs the next season. A few weeks later in Cleveland he was recognized with a video tribute during the game and a standing ovation. He made his 400th career field goal, making him the 10th player to hit that milestone all-time, on November 20, 2016, against the Patriots.
In 2017, Dawson became a free agent and went looking for a team closer to his home in Austin which landed him in Phoenix. Dawson finished his time in San Francisco as the 49ers career leader in filed goals over 50 yards (14); 2nd for points (140) and FGs made (32) in a single season; 2nd for field goal accuracy (86.1%); tied for 3rd for FGAs in a season (36); tied for 5th for FGMs (99); 7th for FGAs, PAT attempts and PATs made; and 10th in career scoring (427).
Arizona Cardinals
On March 10, 2017, Dawson signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals.
On September 10, 2017, in the season opening 35–23 loss to the Detroit Lions, Dawson made his debut as a Cardinal, converting two extra points and a field goal in the loss. In the next game, Dawson converted three field goals, including a 40-yarder to force overtime and a 30-yarder in overtime to win, in the 16–13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
On November 26, 2017, Dawson hit a 57-yard field goal with one second left to beat the favored Jacksonville Jaguars. It was the longest made field goal of Dawson's career (although he made a 59-yard field goal during a 2010 preseason game with the Browns). He converted four field goals in the game, including the 57-yard game-winner, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
On October 7, 2019 against the 49ers, Dawson became the 11th player in NFL history to appear in 300 career games.
In November Dawson suffered a hip injury and was inactive for the November 18th game against Oakland. He returned for what would be his last NFL game, the November 25th game against the Chargers, but he missed a 46 yard field goal and the next day he was placed on the injured reserve list.
He became a free agent at the end of the season and was open to continuing to play..
Retirement
On August 1, 2019, Dawson announced his retirement after 21 seasons after signing a one-day ceremonial contract with the Browns to retire as a member of the team. After Dawson's retirement, Adam Vinatieri became the sole remaining active player from the 1990s.
He finished his career having played 305 games (7th all-time at the time), kicking 441 field goals (8th all time at the time) on 526 FGAs (12th all-time at the time) for an 83.8% field goal average (22nd all-time at the time) and 518 PATs made on 537 attempts (27th all time at the time for both) for a total of 1,847 points scored (11th all-time at the time).
NFL career statistics
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| Bold
| Career high
|}
Regular season
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Team
! rowspan="2" | GP
! colspan="4" | Field goals
! colspan="3" | Extra points
! rowspan="2" | Points
|-
! FGA !! FGM !! Lng !! Pct !! XPA !! XPM !! Pct
|-
! 1999 || CLE
| 15 || 12 || 8 || 49 || 66.7 || 24 || 23 || 95.8 || 53
|-
! 2000 || CLE
| 16|| 17 || 14 || 45 || 82.4 || 17 || 17 || 100.0|| 59
|-
! 2001 || CLE
| 16|| 25 || 22 || 48 || 88.0 || 30 || 29 || 96.7 || 95
|-
! 2002 || CLE
| 16|| 28 || 22 || 52 || 78.6 || 35 || 34 || 97.1 || 100
|-
! 2003 || CLE
| 13|| 21 || 18 || 52 || 85.7 || 21 || 20 || 95.2 || 74
|-
! 2004 || CLE
| 16|| 29 || 24 || 50 || 82.8 || 28 || 28 || 100.0|| 100
|-
! 2005 || CLE
| 16|| 29 || 27 || 44 || 93.1 || 21 || 19 || 90.5 || 100
|-
! 2006 || CLE
| 16|| 29 || 21 || 51 || 72.4 || 25 || 25 || 100.0|| 88
|-
! 2007 || CLE
| 16|| 30 || 26 || 51 || 86.7 || 43 || 42 || 97.7 || 120
|-
! 2008 || CLE
| 16|| 36 || 30 || 56 || 83.3 || 18 || 18 || 100.0|| 108
|-
! 2009 || CLE
| 11 || 19 || 17 || 49 || 89.5 || 19 || 18 || 94.7 || 69
|-
! 2010 || CLE
| 16|| 28 || 23 || 48 || 82.1 || 28 || 28 || 100.0|| 97
|-
! 2011 || CLE
| 16|| 29 || 24 || 54 || 82.8 || 20 || 20 || 100.0|| 92
|-
! 2012 || CLE
| 16|| 31 || 29 || 53 || 93.5 || 29 || 29 || 100.0|| 116
|-
! 2013 || SF
| 16|| 36 || 32 || 56 || 88.9 || 44 || 44 || 100.0|| 140
|-
! 2014 || SF
| 16|| 31 || 25 || 55 || 80.6 || 33 || 33 || 100.0|| 108
|-
! 2015 || SF
| 16|| 27 || 24 || 54 || 88.9 || 21 || 20 || 95.2 || 92
|-
! 2016 || SF
| 16|| 21 || 18 || 53 || 85.7 || 34 || 33 || 97.1 || 87
|-
! 2017 || ARI
| 16|| 40 || 32 || 57 || 80.0 || 26 || 23 || 88.5 || 119
|-
! 2018 || ARI
| 10 || 8 || 5 || 43 || 62.5 || 15 || 15 || 100.0|| 30
|-
! colspan="2" | Career || 305 !! 526 !! 441 !! 57 !! 83.8 !! 531 !! 518 !! 97.6 !! 1,847
|}
Postseason
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Team
! rowspan="2" | GP
! colspan="4" | Field goals
! colspan="3" | Extra points
! rowspan="2" | Points
|-
! FGA !! FGM !! Lng !! Pct !! XPA !! XPM !! Pct
|-
! 2002 || CLE
| 1 || 2 || 2 || 31 || 100.0|| 3 || 3 || 100.0|| 9
|-
! 2013 || SF
| 3|| 7|| 7 || 49|| 100.0|| 6 || 6 || 100.0|| 27
|-
! colspan="2" | Career|| 4 !! 9 !! 9 !! 49 !! 100.0 !! 9 !! 9 !! 100.0 !! 36
|}
The "Phil Dawson Rule"
Dawson had a rule named after him after a missed call by officials. On November 18, 2007, Dawson attempted a 51-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter to tie the game against the Baltimore Ravens. The kick carried through the air and hit the left upright, then went through the uprights (like any good field goal), and then hit the rear curved support post (stanchion) that holds the crossbar, then bounced back over the crossbar (through the uprights again, but backwards this time) into the end zone in front of the goalpost. The kick was originally ruled no good. Under NFL rules, the play was not reviewable. Officials discussed the play among themselves for several minutes and decided that, since the ball had indeed crossed the crossbar within the goal, whatever happened afterward to the ball did not matter. The kick was considered good, as announced by referee Pete Morelli. However, as the play was not technically reviewable, referee Pete Morelli announced that the play was reversed "after discussion," as opposed to "after further review," as is usually stated. At this point the Ravens, already celebrating in the locker room, as they would have won 30-27 if the field goal was no good, were called back out onto the field to proceed to overtime. The Browns went on to win the game, 33–30 in overtime, as Dawson made a 33-yard field goal, which was more visible this time. Dawson finished four for five in field goals, whereas fellow Lake Highlands High School alumnus Matt Stover finished three for three in field goals for the Ravens.
Notably, later in the season on December 16, in the snow and wind gusts up to 40 mph, Dawson kicked another field goal, a 49-yarder which was more improbable, that hit the crossbar. This field goal helped the Browns secure an 8–0 victory over the Buffalo Bills in blizzard-like conditions. Hitting this same structure twice in the same season has led some members of the Cleveland press to begin referring to the support post as "The Dawson Bar."
Prior to the 2008 season, the rule was changed to allow field goal and extra point attempts that hit the uprights or crossbar to be reviewed. This new rule is called the "Phil Dawson Rule."
Personal life
After retiring from football, Dawson became a high school football coach. He was the special teams coordinator at Lipscomb Academy High School in Nashville, TN from 2020 to 2021. He was then hired as the head coach and athletic director at Hyde Park High School in Austin. He led the Panthers to an 8-3 record in 2022 and a birth in the playoffs after they had went winless the year before he arrived. After 3 years, he left with a 19-13 record having taken them to the TAPPS Division II playoffs all three years, but never winning a playoff game. In March of 2025 he was hired as the head coach at Midland Christian. In his first season he led Midland Christian to an 8-4 record, 2nd place in their district and to the quarterfinals, after getting his first coaching playoff win, of the TAPPS Division II state playoffs.
His wife, Shannonis a singer-songwriter and produced her first album "Redemption" in 2013. Together they have three children: Dru, Beau, and Sophiann.
Dru was the starting quarterback at Vandegrift High School near Austin, and graduated in 2020. He spent the 2020 season on the roster as a QB at the University of Alabama at Birmingham but recorded no stats.
Beau graduated in 2022 from Lipscomb Academy. He spent two years on the roster as a tight end and deep snapper at Lamar University in Beaumont, but recorded no stats.
References
External links
- Phil Dawson Edge
- 49ers Player Bio