'I Was Not Aware of That.'

Never saw this before in football, but then I wasn't paying attention

Happy Friday. You’re on the cusp of Christmas. Well done you. Now get on board.

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You weren’t watching Thursday Night Football because you have a life, so let me catch you up: The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Denver Broncos in significant measure because they did something that I did not even realize was allowed in the NFL.

I’m not proud of this admission, no. But the fact is, what the Chargers did is almost never done. It is legal, and in fact it’s even a rule, but because nobody ever does it, even those of us who think we’re close-watchers were caught off guard.

As an actual Chargers player, running back Gus Edwards, put it, “I don't know whose idea it was to kick that, but they know ball. I was confused as s---. I ain't ever seen that before."

Right there with ya.

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Here’s how it went: The Broncos were leading the Chargers 21-10 as the first half wound down. Denver had the ball, but went three and out pretty quickly and had to punt it away with a few seconds left on the clock. With the kick high in the air, the L.A. returner signaled for a fair catch, hoping there would be enough time left for a Hail Mary to end the half.

But a Denver special-teams player, Tremon Smith, got flagged for interfering with that fair catch by appearing to just graze the Chargers player as the ball was coming down from flight. L.A. accepted the 15-yard penalty, which moved the ball all the way to Denver’s 47-yard-line.

Now we veer off the road.

There was no time left on the game clock, but because of the penalty, the Chargers were allowed to take an “untimed” down, meaning they got to run one more play. They could go ahead and try that Hail Mary. But it turns out they had another option, too: They could choose to try a field goal — with nobody on the Denver side allowed to try to block it.

This is all true. It’s called a “fair catch free kick,” and although it sounds like something drawn up during the Leatherhead days, it’s a real thing. Cameron Dicker, the Chargers’ place-kicker, got to tee it up from 57 yards away, and Dicker absolutely nailed his kick. The ball sailed through the uprights with room to spare.

The Chargers thus cut Denver’s lead to 21-13 and sent their own players happily running to the locker room at halftime, feeling they’d be gifted three points, which in a way they had. They came roaring out in the second half and put Denver away, 34-27, to close in on a playoff berth, and after the game several players mentioned that Dicker’s surprise field goal had given them a huge boost.

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So — yeah. Didn’t know that was allowed. But this may not surprise you: Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers’ enigmatic and often full-on odd duck of a head coach, had been hoping forever to get to use that rule.

Harbaugh had a team try this once before, back in 2013 with the 49ers, attempting an untimed field goal from 71 yards out. (No good.) "This is our chance; this is our moment," Harbaugh said of his thought process against the Broncos. "I wanted to try it from 65.”

No need — 57 yards was all it took. It was the longest fair catch free kick in NFL history. Then again, not so much competition: As best anyone can tell, the last time someone successfully converted this type of kick was 1976, when Ray Wersching did so — for the Chargers, during their San Diego heyday.

Imagine! A Thursday night game that could teach you something you actually wanted to learn.

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