Brown's banner day

Kris Brown celebrates his game-winning 57-yard field goal.

On a day when Houston's offense struggled to find the end zone, the golden leg of kicker Kris Brown was all the Texans needed to edge the Dolphins in a thrilling 22-19 victory at Reliant Stadium Sunday.
After recording four field goals earlier in the game, Brown nailed a career-long 57-yard field goal with one second remaining, giving the Texans a 22-19 lead that would seal the victory when the team halted the Dolphins on the ensuing kickoff.

"When it came off my foot, it felt pretty good," Brown said. "With that long of a kick, it's certainly hard to tell. That one, of all the kicks I hit, I hit that one about as well as I could."
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Brown's career day made a major dent in the record books. The nine-year veteran set a team record for field goal distance with a 54-yarder in the final minute of the first half, tied that mark with his second 54-yard score at the 2:12 mark of the third quarter, and then bested it with his 57-yard game winner. Brown also tied team and personal records for most field goals in a game, and was the first player in NFL history to hit three field goals of 54 or more yards in a game.

{QUOTE}Although the Brown's stats and records certainly impressed Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, he felt that the kicker's in-game bounceback from an undisclosed foot injury was the most impressive aspect of Brown's stellar effort.

"I've been doing this for a long time, and I've never seen a kicking performance like the one the kid put on today," Kubiak said. "But I'll tell you something that nobody knows, the kid has a problem with his foot. He came in at halftime and took a shot so that he could go back out for his team. That's as impressive as I've ever seen."

Brown had been dealing with a nagging heel injury on his plant foot all week during practice and he aggravated it during the opening kickoff. At halftime, Brown approached the training staff to see if they could do something to help him through the pain, and he received a shot in the foot, which was a saving grace for the Texans' kicker.
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"It helped tremendously," Brown said. "I think that probably subconsciously in the first half, I was probably a little tentative. But you have to do what you have to do and really go into halftime and get something for my foot where there was no pain. I came out in the second half, warmed up and felt a lot better."

Another factor that may have aided Brown was the fact that he wasn't even aware that his end-game kick attempt would be the longest of his nine-year NFL career.

"I didn't know it was 57 [yards]," Brown said. "I actually thought it was going to be another 54-yarder. I just went out on the field. I knew it was going to be a fairly long kick, and I told myself to go out there, make a good kick and let's go home."

The big performance from Brown came off a disappointing game in Atlanta last week, where he missed wide left on a 25-yard attempt late in the fourth quarter as the Texans tried to mount a comeback against the Falcons. Despite his disappointment, Brown cleared his mind before today's game and did his best to ignore last week's mishap.

"What is great about this game is that you get a chance every time you go out to prove yourself over again," Brown said. "For me, going out there and having a game like today, that's what I expect of myself. I expect myself to go out there and make every kick. I don't care where it's at on the field."

Brown has hit longer field goals before, nailing a wind-aided 70-yard kick during practice at Nebraska. Plus, he has a career nine game-winning kicks. However, despite the records that fell today, Brown said he was just doing his job and helping his team secure a victory.
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"One thing I take pride in is being able to go out there and make plays for this team," Brown said. "The 'C' [Captain's Patch] that I wear on my jersey means a lot to me. I want to go out there and earn that 'C.'"

In the end, his teammates couldn't help but feel excited about Brown's accomplishments and role in the Texans' third victory of the season - even if some of them doubted a kicker's status as a "real" football player.

"He's my favorite player," defensive end N.D. Kalu said. "I've always had something against kickers and punters being called football players, but he's definitely a football player. He had all that pressure on him. You might see me with a jersey that says 'Brown' on it this week."

Cornerback Dunta Robinson said he might labor away in the kitchen to show his appreciation for Brown's clutch kicking.

"Oh, I love him right now," cornerback Dunta Robinson said. "Kris Brown is the man right now! If he needs food for the rest of the week, call me. I'll bring it to him, I'll cook for him, whatever he needs."