Cameron Dicker of the Los Angeles Chargers made the first successful fair-catch kick in the NFL since 1976 on Thursday night, hitting a 57-yard kick just before halftime against the Denver Broncos.
Dicker and the Chargers took advantage of a rare play known as the fair-catch kick, which allows a team that has made a fair catch to attempt a free kick for three points. The kick is taken from the line of scrimmage, and defenders must stay 10 yards away.
This rule is rarely used because most teams don’t find themselves in situations where a fair-catch kick is possible. In the 21st century, only five NFL teams have tried it, and no one had made a successful one since Ray Wersching did it for the San Diego Chargers 48 years ago.
Dicker’s 57-yard kick was also the longest fair-catch kick in NFL history, beating the previous record of a 52-yard kick by Paul Hornung for Green Bay in 1964.
The Chargers took advantage of a penalty by Denver’s Tremon Smith, who interfered with a fair catch on what would have been the final play of the first half when Los Angeles’ Derius Davis tried to catch a punt at the Chargers’ 38-yard line.
The penalty moved the ball to the Denver 47 for an untimed down, and Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh called a timeout before deciding to try the fair-catch kick for the second time in his NFL coaching career.
With J.K. Scott holding the ball, Dicker calmly made the kick through the uprights.
The last fair-catch kick attempt in the NFL happened in 2019 when Carolina’s Joey Slye missed a 60-yard attempt in a game in London. Harbaugh had also tried it with the San Francisco 49ers in 2013, but Phil Dawson missed a 71-yard attempt just before halftime.
The fair-catch kick is very rare because most fair catches happen too far from the normal range for a field goal. The Broncos’ punt would have left the Chargers too far for Dicker to attempt a kick, but Smith’s penalty gave them a rare chance — and Dicker made it count.
Wersching, who played for the Chargers and 49ers during his 15 NFL seasons, made a 45-yard fair-catch kick as time expired for San Diego on Nov. 21, 1976.
