Dicker scored 57 yards on a rarely used play, allowing a team that just made a fair sack to attempt a field goal without the opponent trying to block it. The kick cut the Broncos’ lead to 21-13 at the half and proved to be a spark for the Chargers, who outscored Denver 21-6 over the next two quarters.
The previous longest free throw with a fair catch was a 52-yarder by Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers in 1962.
It looked like the Chargers would go into halftime trailing by 11 points after quarterback Justin Herbert was intercepted by cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine late in the first half. But a quick 3-pointer by the Broncos offense and a fair catch interference penalty on Denver cornerback Tremon Smith gave Los Angeles a chance with no time left to end the half.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh opted to take the fair catch free throw, which by rule is attempted from where a fair catch was requested or granted as a result of a penalty. Teams typically call fair catches well out of field goal range, so the strategy is not common.
Dicker praised special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken after the game and told reporters he prepares the team weekly for such a scenario. Dicker said he didn’t know about the rule until he met Ficken in 2022.
The last fair catch kick attempt was by Carolina’s Joey Slye in 2019 against the Buccaneers. He failed on the 60-yard attempt.
Every Friday, Dicker said specialists watch Slye’s kick. Still, Dicker admitted he never thought he’d try one in a game.
“It was amazing,” Dicker said. “It was fun to be on that stage and be like, ‘Hey, there’s no lineup there. This seems a little weird,’ but it was really cool.”
Harbaugh said the free throw is his favorite football rule and he had been waiting for the opportunity to try one all season.
This isn’t the first time Harbaugh has had his team attempt a kick like this. In 2013, as coach of the San Francisco 49ers, he had Phil Dawson attempt a clean 71-yard kick, but he missed.
“This is our chance; this is our moment,” Harbaugh said of his thought process. “I wanted to try it since ’65 [yards]”.
On the sidelines, Chargers players shared the collective confusion. Herbert thought about trying a Hail Mary and others realized that they didn’t know as much about football as they thought.
“Everyone was trying to figure out what was going on,” outside linebacker Bud Dupree said. “We knew he could do it. We just didn’t understand it. Was it going to be a double or a triple, or did we get the ball at the 1? We didn’t know.”
Added running back Gus Edwards: “Man, I don’t know whose idea it was to kick that, but they know the ball. I was very confused. I’ve never seen that before.”
At least 29 clean free throws have been recorded during the regular season, according to quirkyresearch.com. The last known player to make a clean free throw was Ray Wersching of the San Diego Chargers in 1976.
Broncos coach Sean Payton said his team prepares for such scenarios in practice and that Smith’s punishment “wasn’t smart.”
With the win, the Chargers swept the season series with the Broncos for the first time since 2010. They can clinch a playoff spot with a loss or a tie against the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts this weekend.
“Get some rest, recover, but then we have to attack,” Harbaugh said. “We still have games to win.”
The Chargers close the regular season with visits to the New England Patriots (3-11) and Las Vegas Raiders (2-12).