One of the rarest NFL kick rules has returned, with the “fair-catch free kick” rule not successfully used in an NFL game in nearly 50 years until the night of Thursday, Dec. 19. Jim Harbaugh and the LA Chargers broke out the play after a series of events in the waning seconds of the first half of their win over the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos were leading 21-10 on the final play of the first half when they had to punt. The Chargers punt returner motioned for a fair catch. However, Broncos defender Tremon Smith interfered, moving the ball up 15 yards.
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By rule, the half cannot end on a defensive penalty. The Chargers received one untimed down to run a play.
Harbaugh called time out and met with his special teams coach, Ryan Ficken. They chose a rarely used option to try a free kick following a fair catch, which the opposing team can’t block.
After the win, Harbaugh called it his favorite NFL rule. “Coach Ficken had gone over it this week — doesn’t go over it every week — but they had gone over it. I was trying to work out the math in my head, where’s that flag, it’s gonna be on their side of the 50 so this is, this is our chance, this is our moment,” he joked.
It’s a rare choice because teams are usually nowhere close to field goal range when awarded an extra play, but the penalty added 15 yards. From there, Cameron Dicker had enough leg to boot a 57-yarder to make it 21-13.
The last fair catch kick attempt was by the Carolina Panther’s Joey Slye in 2019 against Tampa Bay. He missed the 60-yard attempt. Each Friday, Dicker said the specialists watch Slye’s kick.
“Yeah, we talked about it the last couple of seasons, so we make sure it’s ready to roll. The offense usually isn’t in there, so they were confused saying ‘what’s going on here’ so that was funny to hear about. So, hey, we just taught a bunch of people what’s going on,” he said.
The 57-yarder was the longest free kick in NFL history. It’s the first since San Diego Charger Ray Wersching did it in 1976.
The players admitted afterward that the play gave them a spark as they entered the locker room. In the second half, the Chargers outscored the Broncos by 15 points and won 34-27.
