An obscure and very rarely used rule came into play at the end of the first half of the Week 16 Thursday Night Football game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos.
What is the rule that enabled Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker to hit a 57-yard field goal with no Broncos allowed to rush him?
What Is the Free Kick After a Fair Catch Rule?
After a fair catch, a team is allowed to attempt a field goal from the spot of the act. This very rarely comes into play because typically a team will want to go on offense after receiving the ball via punt or kickoff.
This field goal attempt differs from most in that the defense is not allowed to rush the kicker to try and block the kick. Thus, the play ends up looking very similar to the old kickoff before the 2024 kickoff rules.
However, most fair catches after a punt are too far back to realistically be able to try the kick, even without the threat of the kick being blocked. Before Dicker’s field goal, the last successful fair catch free kick was in 1976 by Ray Wersching — ironically of the San Diego Chargers — against the Buffalo Bills.
Cameron Dicker makes the first Fair Catch Kick since 1976! 🤯#TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/DtmO91ikEe
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) December 20, 2024
The last that was even attempted was in 2019 by the Carolina Panthers’ Joey Slye. His was no good from 60 yards out against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dicker’s kick was only 57 yards because the Broncos committed a 15-yard fair catch interference penalty. That moved the ball up from the Chargers’ 38-yard line (which would have been a 72-yard kick) to the Broncos’ 47-yard line.
The kick was the sixth successful fair catch free kick field goal in league history. Curiously, the first was by Curly Lambeau (the namesake of the Green Bay Packers stadium) back in 1921.