Sunday’s victory over the Detroit Lions was never really in doubt for the Seattle Seahawks as they rolled to a 28-14 win at Ford Field.
But it could have been in doubt had a gutsy play by Seahawks punter Michael Dickson backfired.
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That play took place with around two minutes left in the fourth quarter with the Seahawks leading 28-14. On fourth down, Dickson positioned himself in his own end zone and awaited the snap. When he took the snap, he started running to his right, looking like he was eventually going to run out of the end zone for a safety. The idea, of course, was to take any chances away from a quick punt return score or great field position for the Lions.
But as the play developed and he saw daylight, Dickson, a former Australian rules football player, improvised and took off running for a game-sealing first down.
Following the game, Dickson talked about the play.
“Yeah, I’ve got big balls,” Dickson said according to The Seattle Times. “They call me Big balls Dickson.”
“We meant to take a safety and try to melt the clock,” Dickson said. “I was meant to just kind of run around, take some time off the clock and just step out of bounds. As I ran to the right, I just looked and saw that there was a bit of a gap. I thought, ‘just stuff it, just tuck it and try and run.'”
He was also asked about how things would have gone if he failed to get the first down.
“Oh, man, I would be extremely embarrassed,“ Dickson said. “I don’t even know, that did not even cross my mind. Honestly, I knew I was going to get it and I’m glad it paid off.”
Unfortunately, the play worked out for Dickson and the Seahawks and the Lions hopes of a comeback ended.
