Inglewood, California — Jim Harbaugh favors the obscure fair-catch kick over all other football regulations.
Thursday night, the Los Angeles Chargers coach had the opportunity to try one for the second time in his career.
This time, his kicker scored three points on one of the sport’s most unique plays.
Cameron Dicker made the NFL’s first successful fair-catch kick since 1976, connecting from 57 yards just before halftime against the Denver Broncos.
“I’ve been hoping to get one of those every game. Cam Dicker moved forward and made it. “It was huge and helped us regain momentum,” Harbaugh added.
Those points sparked the Chargers’ comeback, which resulted in a 34-27 victory, with the game ending on a 24-6 run.
Dicker’s kick was a treat for football fans like Harbaugh who enjoy unusual and extraordinary feats.
The seldom-used rule permits a side that has just made a fair catch to attempt a free kick for three points. The kick is attempted from the line of scrimmage, and all defenders must remain 10 yards away.
The play rarely occurs since teams are nearly never in a position to make such a kick possible. Only five NFL teams had attempted the kick in the twenty-first century, and no one had successfully performed it since Ray Wersching did it for the San Diego Chargers 48 years earlier.
“That’s cool. “I had no idea that was the case,” Dicker remarked of reaching the rare milestone. “It was enjoyable to go out there. It was fun to be in that situation. With the penalty, I expected it to happen.
The Chargers took advantage of the opportunity given by Denver’s Tremon Smith’s fair-catch interference on what would have been the final play of the first half, when Los Angeles’ Derius Davis attempted to field a punt at the Chargers 38.
Smith stated that he was “well aware” of the fair-catch kick regulation when the Chargers lined up for it.
“I’ve been playing for a long time,” Smith explained. “It’s just a silly penalty… The returner did an excellent job of selling it. He is aware that he is about to collide with me, despite the fact that he will not catch the ball. But, as I already stated, this is a foolish penalty.”
The flag moved the ball to the Denver 47 for an untimed down, and Harbaugh called a timeout before attempting the fair-catch kick.
Dicker calmly booted the ball through the uprights while J.K. Scott was holding it.
Dicker said special teams coach Ryan Ficken goes over the play frequently during the season, and they occasionally rehearse it on Fridays. Harbaugh also complimented Ficken for bringing it up again during the meetings coming up to the game.
“Looking over to (Denver’s) sideline, it was amusing. They weren’t sure what was going on. “We talked about it every week, so it was normal for us,” Dicker explained.
Many Broncos admitted they were aware of what was going on and were disappointed to be on the wrong side of history.
“It’s something we talk about in our special teams group, and it’s one of those situations you go through in training camp,” Denver receiver Marvin Mims explained. “So we all knew what was going to happen, and they executed to perfection.”
Dicker’s 57-yarder was also the longest fair-catch kick in NFL history, surpassing Paul Hornung’s 52-yarder for Green Bay in 1964.
The most recent fair-catch kick attempt in the NFL occurred in 2019, when Carolina’s Joey Slye missed from 60 yards in a game played in London.
Harbaugh attempted it with the San Francisco 49ers in 2013, but Phil Dawson missed from 71 yards shortly before halftime.
“I wanted it so badly that I tried it,” Harbaugh recalled in retrospect. “I was also really thrilled because Coach Ficken reviewed it this week. We took a break to get things figured out. It was going to be on their side of the fifty. “This was our chance.”
The play is extremely unusual because most fair receptions take place well beyond of regular field goal range. The Broncos’ punt would have left the Chargers far out of Dicker’s reach, but Smith’s penalty presented a rare opportunity, which Dicker took advantage of.
“I was definitely confused,” Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa admitted. “I was ready to go into the locker room, but I’m glad we had a chance. I was just joking that you can play for 20 years and still have no idea what’s going on on the field. So, that was a good moment. It was an important swing in momentum.”
Wersching, who kicked for the Chargers and 49ers during 15 NFL seasons, made a 45-yard fair-catch kick at the halftime gun for San Diego against Buffalo on Nov. 21, 1976.
“It doesn’t happen much,” Denver coach Sean Payton said. “We practice it all the time. In that situation, the penalty put them in field goal position, so it’s disappointing.”