Los Angeles Chargers placekicker Cameron Dicker hit a 57-yard free kick field goal on Thursday, an incredibly rare play that early-to-bed East Coasters and linear television viewers probably missed.

The Chargers rallied from a deficit to defeat the road Denver Broncos 34-27, a rally sparked by Dicker’s unopposed field goal to end the first half on Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football.”

It was the NFL’s first successful free kick field goal in 48 years.

With the Broncos leading 21-10 in the final seconds of the second quarter, Denver was forced to punt on fourth-and-12 from its own 16-yard line.

LA punt returner Derius Davis was ready to make a fair catch at his own 38-yard line. A fair catch is a common football play in which a kick receiver signals that he will catch up and give up any chance of a return if he is not hindered in return.

Davis did not catch the ball because he was illegally touched by Denver’s Tremon Smith, and this fair catch interference resulted in a 15-yard penalty, moving Los Angeles to Denver’s 47-yard line.

With no time left, many fans watching at home or at SoFi Stadium certainly believed halftime was over. But “Thursday Night Football” rules analyst Terry McAulay immediately urged viewers to stay on their couches: “You can take a free kick for a field goal, we haven’t seen that in… ages.”

A fair catch kick allows the attacking team to attempt a field goal from the line of scrimmage without a snap or rusher.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, the son of longtime college football coach Jack Harbaugh, didn’t hesitate to send Dicker onto the field to try out the leisurely kick.

And without having to worry about the timing of a snap-and-hold or fear of attacking opponents trying to block the kick, Dicker shot the ball through the uprights, cutting Denver’s lead to 21-13.

The last successful free kick goal was scored 48 years ago by Ray Wersching, who scored it in the 1976 season for the then San Diego Chargers.

Jim Harbaugh said he was well aware of the obscure rule and he regularly thinks about how to exploit it.

“This is my favorite rule in football,” the smiling coach told reporters after the game. “I’m just trying to get one of those every game.”