INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Tremon Smith found himself on the wrong side of history in Denver’s 34-27 loss to the Chargers on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.

With eight seconds left in the second quarter, Smith was called in as the shooter and rushed downfield after Riley Dixon’s punt. But instead of stopping after the Chargers’ Derius Davis signaled a fair catch, he clipped the returner’s leg and dropped him to the turf.

The result: a 15-yard interference penalty that gave the Chargers an untimed down at the Denver 47-yard line

“The returner sold it well and just ran into me even though he didn’t want to catch the ball,” Smith said. “…Stupid punishment.”

What followed hadn’t happened in nearly five decades.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh took advantage of an obscure rule and attempted a fairly caught free kick. Los Angeles’ special teams trotted onto the field and kicker Cameron Dicker kicked a 57-yard field goal that Denver didn’t try to block, as per rule – the first successful fair-catch free kick since 1976.

What could have been an 11-point halftime lead was instead reduced to 21-13. Los Angeles then outscored the Broncos 21-6 in the final two quarters to secure the victory, ending Denver’s four-game winning streak and temporarily putting the Broncos’ playoff hopes on hold.

Broncos coach Sean Payton said Smith’s punishment was “not wise.”

“The penalty put them in field goal position,” he added. “So it’s disappointing.”

According to Rule 10, Section 2, Article 4 of the NFL Rules, the receiving team has the option to put the ball in play by a snap or a fair catch after a fair catch is made or awarded due to a fair catch interference kick (Drop kick or place kick without a shot) from the spot of the catch or the subsequent spot after all applicable penalties have been enforced.

Smith’s penalty gave Harbaugh the opportunity to put three points on the board. Dicker entered the division matchup going 8-for-9 (88.8%) on field goal attempts from 50-plus yards this season and 15-for-18 (83.3%) over the last two years. Without having to worry about Denver trying to block the ball, Dicker made his game-winning kick with ease.