Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton kicked himself after Denver gave up both momentum and the NFL’s first successful fair-catch kick in 48 years.

Cameron Dicker’s missed 57-yard field goal sparked the Chargers’ 34-27 comeback on Thursday night, ending Denver’s four-game winning streak and preventing the Broncos (9-6) from clinching their first playoff berth in… to secure 2015.

“It’s just a stupid penalty,” said Tremon Smith, who faced punt returner Derius Davis at the Chargers’ 38 at the end of the first half. The 15-yard penalty sent the ball past midfield and opened the door for the league’s first successful fair-catch kick since Ray Wersching for the San Diego Chargers 48 years ago.

Dicker’s field goal cut the Broncos’ lead to eight and sparked a 24-6 run by the Chargers (9-6), who beat Denver for the first time since 2010.

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

Also lamentable was Payton’s play in the final minute of the first half, which allowed the Chargers to use the rarely used rule that allows a team that has just made a fair catch to attempt a free kick for three points, one, The attempt is made from the line of scrimmage with the defenders at least 10 yards away.

After scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions, the Broncos were up 21-10 when they got the ball back at their 18 with 41 seconds before halftime.

Instead of running out the clock, Payton threw two Bo-Nix passes to running back Javonte Williams. Although the first lost three yards, it consumed 24 seconds. But the second was incomplete and the clock stopped at 17 seconds.

So when Williams rushed for a yard on third down, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh called a timeout with eight seconds left. All those seconds passed on Riley Dixon’s punt, but Smith’s penalty gave LA an unstopped down in Denver territory and Dicker danced in for a rare field goal.

“Normally you would be pretty conservative,” Payton said. “We wanted to have the ball (at the start of the third quarter). We ran one screen and then when the clock got low enough we couldn’t get any momentum there.”

They also lacked momentum the rest of the evening.

After a field goal gave them a 24-13 lead midway through the third quarter, the Broncos couldn’t stop the Chargers, who scored three late touchdowns to deny Denver a playoff victory.

“We got off to a fast start, so that encouraged me,” Payton said. “Then, which is atypical for this season, we didn’t play nearly well enough in the second half, both offensively and defensively.”

Payton tipped the balance by agreeing to move the game forward to Thursday night. He did this because it postponed the Bengals’ game against Cleveland until the weekend. The Broncos travel to Cincinnati next week, so it will be the Bengals who get a short week, not Denver.

But the failure in LA puts the Broncos in a precarious position as they lose to Joe Burrow, followed by their season finale against Kansas City.

They still have an 86 percent chance of making the playoffs, but they will now have an extra long break to consider whether they can squander their golden chance at the title before the holidays.

What works

Denver’s defense leads the league with 51 sacks. The Broncos had a pair from unlikely sources on Thursday night: ILB Drew Sanders and OLB Dondrea Tillman.

What needs help

The ground game again. The Broncos ran seven times for 53 yards on their first drive, which ended with rookie Audric Estime’s first career touchdown. They then ran 14 times for 57 yards, with Estime finishing with a team-high nine carries for 48 yards.

Stock up

WR Marvin Mims Jr. Mims, the reigning AFC special teams player of the week, didn’t have a punt return on Thursday night, but he had a 53-yard catch and appeared to earn a big penalty on a deep pass as his Defender him scored early and never looked for the ball, but no flag was thrown.

“I thought he might have gotten there a little early, but I talked to the referee afterward and he said it was good timing on his part,” Mims said. “At the end of the day, that’s all I can say.”

Inventory reduced

Tremon Smith said he was “well aware” of the fair catch-kick rule that the Chargers used to turn the tide: “I’ve been playing for a long time. It’s just a stupid punishment. The returnee sold it well. He knows he’s running towards me, even if he didn’t want to catch the ball. But like I said, stupid punishment.”

Injuries

RB Jaleel McLaughlin (hamstring) was inactive.

Key number

6 – Games Bo Nix had multiple touchdown passes without an interception. That’s the most in NFL history for a rookie quarterback (Russell Wilson in 2012, Justin Herbert in 2020 and CJ Stroud in 2023).

What’s next?

The Broncos visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, December 28th.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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