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. He set the freshman school record for points scored in a season (80) and finished 3rd for accuracy (73.7%) by a freshman.
Going into the 1995 season, he was named to the Playboy Magazine Preseason All-American team. As a sophomore, Dawson led the Longhorns in scoring, helping them to win the Southwest Conference Championship outright and go to the Sugar Bowl. In the Sugar Bowl, he kicked a notable game-winning field goal against the University of Virginia, booting a 50-yarder against a 30-MPH wind to give Texas a dramatic 17–16 victory as time expired. It was the 2nd longest field goal in a bowl game in school history and the team's first ever walk-off field goal victory. That season he led the Southwest Conference in extra points attempts and extra points made. 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 the offseason, he had a knee operation.
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 made first team All-Big 12 and he helped Texas win the first Big 12 Championship game, make a trip to the Fiesta Bowl and finish ranked 23rd. He led the Big 12 in field goals and kick scoring per game (9 ppg). 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 was named a 2nd Team All-American by the Newspaper Enterprise Association and a Lou Groza Award semi-finalist. He led the Big 12 in extra point and field goal attempts; in extra points and field goals made adn in kicking points.
In 1997, his senior year, he was a team captain but suffered a series of injuries to his hamstring, pelvis, groin and hip. 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. At the end of the season he was named second-team All-Big 12 and first-team Academic All-Big 12.
After his final year at Texas, he played in the 1998 Senior Bowl.
He finished his time at Texas holding 13 school records, including career scoring, with 339 career points, a record that would be broken by Ricky Williams five games into the next season. It wouldn't be topped by another place kicker until 2004. He also held the record for career field goal attempts (79), field goals made (59), consecutive field goals made (15) and field goal accuracy (74.7%) and most of the records would last over 20 years. He was also 2nd for 50+ yard field goals made (9). He finished his college career ranked 16th on the NCAA all-time scoring list. He was also 12th in kick scoring and 31st in FGMs.
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 them after their second preseason game in August. He logged a missed 47-yard field goal attempt and a made extra point for the Raiders (both occurring against the Dallas Cowboys).
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. A few days later he kicked the winning field goal in a preseason game against the Redskins. 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 1999 season 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.
He scored the first points in the history of the "new" Cleveland Browns in 1999. On October 10 of that year, he scored the only touchdown of his career on a fake field goal against the Bengals in an 18–17 loss that was also the first rushing touchdown scored by a Brown at Cleveland Browns Stadium. That season he also kicked the first of his walk-off game winning field goals against Pittsburgh to win the game 16-15.
2000 season In the 2000 season, Dawson 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.
2003 season During the 2003 season Dawson 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. He returned to make his first trip to the playoffs, and only one as a Brown. The Browns lost to the Steelers 36-33 in a game where they were setting up Dawson for a game tying FG, but ran out of time.
2004 season By the 2004 season, Dawson had kicked at least 6 game-winning field goals over his career.
2005 season In 2005, against the Houston Texans, Dawson tied the team record for most field goals in a game with 5. In 2005, he also broker Stover's franchise record for field goal percentage in a season (93.1%).
2006 season In 2006 Dawson broke the team record of most field goals made with 6 against the San Diego Chargers. He was also awarded Ed Block Courage Award winner by his teammates and won the Doug Dieken Humanitarian Award for his charitable and community efforts.
2007 season In the 2007 season, against the Oakland Raiders, Dawson had a potential game-winning field goal blocked; but two months later against the Baltimore Ravens, he kicked a 51-yard field goal, that hit both the upright and the stanchion and was originally ruled "no good", to take the Browns to overtime before also hitting the 33-yard game winner. 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. The new rule would end up being called the "Phil Dawson Rule." 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-yard field goal, that hit the crossbar. This field goal helped the Browns secure an 8–0 victory over the Buffalo Bills in blizzard-like conditions. 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. That season he was elected the Dino Lucarelli "Good Guy" Award honoree by the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).
2008 season On November 17, 2008, he hit a 56-yard game-winning field goal, one of five for the night, against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, the longest of his career at that point and the 4th longest in Browns history. That season he set the Browns record for most field goals in a season with 30 and for most consecutive games with a field goal (15).
2009 season In 2009, against the Detroit Lions, Dawson threw his one and only career pass, a 10-yard strike to Mike Furrey on a fake field goal attempt that earned the team a first down. Despite kicking right-footed, he throws left-handed.
2010 season
On October 10, 2010, Dawson tied Lou Groza for the Browns' career field-goal record with 234, and then broke it the next week.
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.
2011 season During the 2011 season, Dawson broke his own franchise records for most consecutive games with a field goal (23) and most consecutive field goals made (29). He was given the franchise tag again in March 2012.
2012 season
In the 2012 season, Dawson broke his own franchise record for field goal percentage in a season (93.5%) and made the Pro Bowl. He was named 2nd team All-Pro by the AP again and 1st team All-Pro by the Sporting News and the Pro-Football Writers. He was also elected the Browns Player of the Year by the local PFWA chapter.
Going into the 2013 season, the Browns chose not to make him a franchise player again as it would have cost them $14 million and so he became a free agent.
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 2024, Dawson was named a Browns Legend and honored at halftime in week 3 of the 2024 NFL season.
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers signed Dawson to replace David Akers on March 19, 2013, for $2.25 million.
2013 season