In his favorite setting, the "Ice Man" wins it again

DENVER — Sometime in the third quarter, when the Seahawks' offense was stymied and after Josh Brown already had missed field-goal attempts of 53 and 40 yards, his holder, Ryan Plackemeier, came up to him and promised:

"Ice Man, you're going to win this game today. It's going to come down to us."

In the still of this chilly night, from 50 yards out, on the next-to-last play of the game, Brown turned his holder into Nostradamus.

"He hit it hard," Plackemeier said after the Hawks escaped Sunday night with a 23-20 victory. "When I caught it, the laces were pointed right at him, so I told myself, 'I got to spin this thing because he needs a good ball to hit.' I spun them around and he hit it hard.

"When he hits it hard, there's just this thump and he kind of grazes the top of the grass. And on this kick, I heard that thump."

For the fourth time in this undulating Seahawks season, Brown kicked the winning field goal. Confident as Tiger Woods with a two-stroke lead on Sunday, Brown saved the Seahawks again.

"As soon as I hit it I was fine," Brown said. "The moment you make solid contact, you know you're good."

Four wins have come from his right foot. And four wins is the difference between first place and last place in the NFC West. His four final-minute winners in one season tie an NFL record.

"He's not like a real weird kicker that gets away from everyone and doesn't talk to anyone. He just knows his job," said rookie punter/holder Plackemeier. "I wouldn't say he's cocky at all. He's very humble off the field and gracious to have the job he does, but when it comes down to game-winners, he just knows he's going to make it."

Coach Mike Holmgren was so confident in Brown, who has kicked the winning field goal at Detroit, at St. Louis, at home against the Rams and now in Denver, he called a couple of conservative running plays in the final minute to set up another monstrous moment.

"We just kind of knew it was coming," Brown said. "But it wasn't any different than any other kick. We stuck to the things that we know, our consistent routine. We were unfortunate and unlucky early in the game, but we were able to stick with it and stay strong.

"We typically don't have first halves like that. I was really out of rhythm with myself. I had a great warmup. Had a great week of practice. I was just as surprised by the misses as some other people were."

Brown has that knack all great kickers have of erasing the memories of the mistakes and dwelling on the made field goals. On opening day at Detroit, Brown had two early field-goal attempts blocked before drilling a 42-yard winner.

"It doesn't matter what happened earlier in the game, he has the confidence to say to himself, 'I'm going to make this kick,' " Plackemeier said. "I think the level of confidence going into every kick is what makes him successful."

It isn't stretching the point to say Brown is the team's most valuable player. Before his first-half miss Sunday, he had made 10 in a row, almost all of them at clutch times. Without the four winning kicks, the Seahawks would be the Arizona Cardinals.

If Reggie Jackson was Mr. October, Josh Brown is becoming Mr. September-Through-December. He thrives on these moments, which is why teammate Lofa Tatupu has nicknamed him "Ice Man."

"It's kind of cool to have a nickname," Brown said.

And it's kind of cold making the kind of stadium-silencing kicks Brown has made in Detroit, St. Louis and Denver.

"For whatever reason it was supposed to work out the way it did tonight," he said. "I just like to think of myself as being consistent. I trust my abilities. I trust the people around me. The main thing is I don't give up on anything.

"There's a lot of people in here who believe in me. At halftime, Shaun [Alexander] told me my second half was going to be huge. It's like they've learned to trust me even after I make a mistake. It's the building of a relationship over four years, and I hope we're not at the peak."

Because of Brown's blue-blooded right foot, the 8-4 Hawks are three games up in the NFC West with four games left and they are tied for second with Dallas and New Orleans in the conference.

Brown is the Seahawks' great escape artist. Think Houdini in a straitjacket or David Blaine in a block of ice. At the end of this season he becomes a free agent, and the Seahawks absolutely have to pay him whatever he demands. They can't pull a Steve Hutchinson with Brown.

"I ain't trying to jinx it," Brown said. "I'll just let the chips fall."

Brown's kicking has saved the Hawks. Kept them in contention for a home-field edge in January. Let the chips fall like snowflakes on Josh Brown. He's earned them.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists