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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –** Josh Brown is still getting his kicks and Stevie Brown will return to the back of the defense for the Giants.
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In his first season with the Giants in 2013, Josh Brown made 23 of 26 field goal attempts, a percentage of 88.5 that is the third-highest in Giants history (minimum 15 attempts). John Carney hit 92.1 percent (35 of 38) in 2008 and Brad Daluiso made 88.9 percent (24 of 27) in 1996.
Brown also made all 31 of his extra point tries for 100 points, his eighth 100-point season.
From Oct. 21 to Dec. 29, Brown succeeded on a Giants-record 17 consecutive field goal attempts. The streak ended when he was wide left on a 50-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter of the season finale vs. Washington. Brown had set the mark on a game-winning 45-yarder in overtime the previous week at Detroit. He had been tied with his predecessor, Lawrence Tynes, who made 16 field goals in a row in 2010. Brown did not miss an attempt for three months; his previous miss was in Kansas City on Sept. 29, when he was wide left on a 44-yard try.
Brown played several notable games in his first Giants season.
On Oct. 27 in Philadelphia, Brown scored all of the Giants' points in a 15-7 victory on field goals of 40, 44, 33, 46 and 27 yards. He was the first Giant to kick three field goals of 40 yards or longer in a game since Oct. 14, 1991, when Matt Bahr booted field goals of 45, 40 and 44 yards in a 23-20 Monday night victory in Pittsburgh.
In the Giants' 23-20 victory in Detroit on Dec. 22, Brown kicked field goals of 41, 52 and 45 yards to become the first kicker in Giants history with three field goals *longer *than 40 yards in a regular-season game. Daluiso kicked field goals of 43, 41 and 51 yards in an NFC Wild Card Game vs. Minnesota on Dec. 27, 1997.
Brown's 45-yarder in overtime vs. the Lions was his ninth career game-winning field goal (those that gave his team the lead for good in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime). His previous such kick was on Dec, 23, 2012, when his 43-yarder with four seconds left gave Cincinnati a 13-10 victory over Pittsburgh.
Brown's 52-yarder was not only his longest field goal, but his longest attempt of the season. It was Brown's 30th career field goal of 50 or more yards (on 46 attempts). The 52-yard field goal was the longest by a Giants kicker since Tynes kicked a 53-yarder at Dallas on Oct. 25, 2010. It was the first 50-yarder by a Giant since Tynes kicked a 50-yard field goal vs. Pittsburgh on Nov. 4, 2012.
Brown's 31 extra points extended the Giants' streak of consecutive successes to 277 since a Lawrence Tynes miss on Oct. 21, 2007 vs. San Francisco. That is the league's third-longest active streak, behind San Francisco (342) and Tennessee (285).
A 12-year veteran, Brown previously played for the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. In his career, Brown has played in 164 regular-season games and in 10 postseason games, including Super Bowl XL. In the regular season, he has made 254 of 310 field goal attempts (81.9 percent) and 341 of 343 extra point tries for 1,103 points. In postseason play, Brown has made 18 of 21 field goal attempts (85.7 %) and all 22 of his extra point tries.
Stevie Brown will team with Antrel Rolle and Will Hill to give the Giants an outstanding threesome at safety.
Brown missed the entire season after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament in a preseason game vs. the Jets on Aug. 24. He was placed on injured reserve the following day and underwent surgery on Sept. 5.
In his first season with the Giants in 2012, Brown was one of the NFL's finest safeties. He played in all 16 games with 11 starts at strong safety and led the team and was tied for second in the NFL with eight interceptions. Brown also had a team-high 11 passes defensed and was fifth on the Giants with 71 tackles (62 solo).
Brown was twice selected NFC Defensive Player of the Week. He was honored after his Week 8 performance at Dallas, where he intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and had six solo tackles in a victory over the Cowboys. Brown was cited a second time after the Giants' Week 17 rout of Philadelphia, when he had six tackles and, on the fifth play of the game, intercepted a Michael Vick pass and returned it 48 yards to the Eagles' 26-yard line. Four plays later, Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Rueben Randle, and the Giants were on their way to a 42-7 triumph. Brown was the first Giants safety to receive two Player of the Week awards in one season and the team's first defensive back to be honored twice in one year since cornerback Jason Sehorn in 1997.
Brown's eight interceptions were the most by a Giant since Willie Williams had 10 in 1968 and his 307
interception return yards broke the former Giants' single-season record of 251, set by Hall of Famer Emlen Tunnell in 1949 and matched by Dick Lynch in 1963. Brown twice intercepted two passes in a game to become the first Giant with a pair of two-interception games in a season since Percy Ellsworth in 1998. He had five interception returns of more than 40 yards, the highest total by an NFL player since Ed Reed had five in 2004.
Brown joined the Giants on April 3, 2012 after playing a total of 23 games the previous two years with Oakland and Indianapolis.
*The Giants also waived linebacker Marcus Dowtin, who played in three games and had two special teams tackles late in the 2013 season.
