Seahawks punter Michael Dickson jokingly named ‘honorary player of the game’

The Seattle Seahawks were without a punter for the fourth quarter.

In a roundabout way, it ended up benefiting them.

With standout punter Michael Dickson dealing with what head coach Mike Macdonald described as back spasms, the Seahawks elected to keep their offense on the field for a fourth down inside their own 40-yard line with just under 10 minutes remaining. Seattle converted the fourth down and went on a go-ahead touchdown later in the drive that led to a 26-21 road win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

“We nominated (Dickson) as the honorary player of the game for not being available – for us having to go for it on fourth down,” Macdonald joked.

Early in the fourth quarter, the FOX broadcast showed Dickson in apparent discomfort and receiving treatment on the sideline. Shortly afterward, he came out to serve as the holder for Jason Myers’ 43-yard field-goal attempt, which New York’s lead to 21-19 with 13:11 left. But soon after that, the Seahawks listed him as questionable to return.

A few minutes later, Seattle was still trailing by two points when it faced a fourth-and-6 from its own 33-yard line. It was an obvious punting situation, but Macdonald said Dickson was unavailable and that the options were either to go for it or use Myers as the punter.

Myers was the primary punter for FCS-level Marist College in New York back in 2012, but Macdonald ultimately opted to keep his offense on the field.