Steven Hauschka didn’t want to kick long field goal that became touchdown

Jan 19, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka (4) kicks a field goal out of the hold by punter Jon Ryan (9) against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of the 2013 NFC Championship football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Steven Hauschka has not missed a field goal thus far this postseason. But that doesn’t mean he thinks he is invincible.

On Sunday night in the NFC title game against the San Francisco 49ers, he felt that a 53-yard field goal into the wind would be too much for his leg to overcome.

The result was interesting. Dealt with a 4th-and-7 situation on the 49ers’ 35 yard line, head coach Pete Carroll wanted the Seahawks to take three points and make it a 17-16 game in the final quarter.

Hauschka, however, was not confident that he would make the kick and instead told Carroll to go for it.

“I didn’t really want to kick it, to tell you the truth,” Hauschka told Newsday after the game. “It was into the wind . . . I didn’t think it was the right decision and I let coach Carroll know that.”

Trailing by four points with less than 15 minutes to go, the decision became a gamble that paid off big time.

Russell Wilson threw a 35-yard bullet to Jermaine Kearse in the end zone which gave the Seahawks a 20-17 lead that ultimately proved to be more than the 49ers could handle.

The touchdown was clutch and certainly altered the outcome of the game.

If Hauschka had missed the field goal, the 49ers would have taken over with a 17-13 lead and would have been in good field position to score again.

But Hauschka trusted his instinct and Carroll trusted his player.

“It was kind of a crazy sequence of events,” Hauschka told Newsday.

Hauschka contributed three other field goals in the game and is now a perfect 6-for-6 in this postseason.

He made 33 of his 35 kicks in the regular season.