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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jim Harbaugh received an early Christmas present Thursday night during the Los Angeles Chargers’ 34-27 win over the Denver Broncos.
Harbaugh got an opportunity to utilize what he called his favorite rule in football: The fair-catch kick.
According to NFL rules, if a player makes a fair catch, his team may attempt an unchallenged kick from the spot rather than begin its next possession. If the kick goes through the goalposts, it’s worth three points, just like a field goal.
Harbaugh’s Chargers got a chance to take advantage of the rule when the Broncos were penalized for fair catch interference with under 10 seconds remaining in the first half. The 15-yard penalty gave Los Angeles the football on Denver’s 47-yard line. After the two teams exchanged timeouts, the Chargers trotted out Cameron Dicker for the 57-yard, fair-catch kick.
Dicker knocked the football through the uprights for the first successful fair-catch kick since 1976, and the longest converted fair-catch kick in NFL history.
“It was awesome. It was fun to go out there,” Dicker said. “It was funny to be in that scenario, and just be like, ‘huh, there’s no line out there, this looks a little weird.’ But it was really cool to be out there and be able to execute.”
It was the first fair-catch kick attempt in the NFL since 2019.
“It’s my favorite rule in football, and just been trying to get one of those, like every game,” Harbaugh said with a smile postgame.
Harbaugh admitted he was keenly aware of the seldom-used NFL rule. He actually tried one when he was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2013. But kicker Phil Dawson missed the 71-yard kick against the St. Louis Rams.
“There was Cam Dicker. (He) stepped up and nailed it,” Harbaugh said. “I thought that was huge, good momentum.”
Momentum it was.
The kick cut the Chargers’ deficit to 21-13 at halftime. Los Angeles proceeded to rally in the second half by outscoring the Broncos 21-6, which was highlighted by three touchdown drives engineered by quarterback Justin Herbert and a defense that held Denver’s offense to 2-for-8 on third downs.
“I was expecting to go out there and throw (a) Hail Mary. That’s why we have coaches and people up in the box, you know, making that call,” Herbert said. “For Cam (Dicker) to go out there and nail that kick, like, that was a huge momentum boost for us.”
The momentum-boosting, fair-catch kick could be the catalyst that gets the Chargers back into the playoffs. The win vaulted Los Angeles to the sixth seed in the AFC, one spot above the Broncos. Plus, the Chargers have now swept the season series against their AFC West rival. According to Next Gen Stats, the Chargers have a 97% chance to reach the postseason and could even clinch a playoff berth by the end of Sunday.
An early Christmas present in the form of a successful fair-catch kick that could help the Chargers clinch a playoff berth in Harbaugh’s first year in Los Angeles.
“Christmas is my favorite holiday,” Harbaugh said. “A lot of great memories.”
Harbaugh’s got another Christmas memory to add, for sure.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.