Packers and Crosby have a memorable history of fairly caught free kicks

The NFL witnessed something Thursday that hasn’t been accomplished since 1976 – a fair free-kick conversion when the Los Angeles Chargers’ Cameron Dicker completed a 57-yard kick before halftime of his team’s 34-27 victory over the Denver Broncos .

What is a fair catch kick? We’re so glad you asked, because the adorable soccer ephemera is lighting up the eyes of soccer nerds everywhere.

An esoteric rule allows teams to attempt a free kick – without anyone rushing to block it – if the play comes after a fair catch, even if there is no time left on the clock. It’s a rare circumstance; Rarely is a team able to kick after a punt, and rarely does a punt end a half to create the perfect laboratory.

Here is the wording of the rule book: “After a fair catch is made or awarded due to fair catch interference, the receiving team has the option to recover the ball by a snap or a fair catch kick (drop kick or place kick ) into play.” without a shot) from the catch point or the subsequent point after enforcing all applicable penalties (3-9 and 11-4-3). This includes the 15-yard penalty, which will be assessed from the receiving team’s 20-yard line if the fair catch is made or awarded in its end zone due to fair catch interference or illegal contact with the receiver, after he made a fair catch.”

That’s a lot of words, but sometimes the circumstances are just right. And the Green Bay Packers have been an active participant in the Strange Reign story.

On Thursday, Dicker was able to line up for a 57-yard kick with no time left in the first half after a fair catch interference call moved the ball 15 yards closer to what looked like a halftime punt.

The fair catch kick has not been attempted in an NFL game since 2019 and has not been implemented since San Diego’s Ray Wersching drilled a 45-yarder against Buffalo on November 21, 1976.

This is where the Packers come into play.

Mason Crosby definitely tried in 2008

If Mason Crosby had successfully converted a free kick against Detroit on December 28, 2008, it would have been the longest field goal in NFL history. But his 69-yarder at the end of the first half fell JUST short, perfectly in line with the uprights.

Rookie backup quarterback Matt Flynn held the ball while the Lions stood 10 yards behind in kickoff formation. With the wind at his back, Crosby came up about three meters short.

“When I hit it, I thought it was going to go,” Crosby said. “The wind destroyed it right at the end. We talked about situations like that and kind of worked through it.”

The Packers still won the season finale 31:21, giving the Lions an annual record of 0:16.

The Packers lost on a fair catch kick in 1968

Mac Percival of the Chicago Bears converted a fair catch kick with 20 seconds left, a 43-yarder that gave the Bears a 13-10 victory over the Packers on November 3, 1968.

It’s the second-to-last fair kick conversion in NFL history before Thursday.

Donny Anderson sent a punt just 28 yards from his own 15-yard line, allowing Chicago’s Cecil Turner to make the fair catch while falling forward at the 43-yard line. Because the kick is made from the point and does not require a snap, fair-catch free kicks are seven yards closer than a traditional field goal kick, which requires a snap.

It’s possible that the Bears wouldn’t have even considered this strategy… except that Green Bay’s Paul Hornung would have made a 52-yard fair catch kick against the Bears just before halftime in 1964. Percival said in a 2011 interview that he didn’t believe the Bears knew about the rule at the time.

Paul Hornung returned after a year away to help Green Bay beat the Bears

Hornung’s 52-yard shot was part of a 23-12 victory over Chicago on September 13, 1964.

It was Hornung’s first game back after a year’s suspension and he kicked three field goals (plus two extra points) to secure the winning margin. The 52-yarder set a club record at the time and was made possible by a fair catch by Elijah Pitts with eight seconds left. Bart Starr saved the shot and gave Green Bay a 17-3 lead at halftime.

The 52-yarder marked the longest successful fair catch kick in NFL history in front of Dicker.

The rule was as unusual in the 1960s as it is today. The recap of the Packers’ win at the Appleton Post-Crescent showed the confusion caused by the Hornung attempt.

“It’s been in the rule book for a long time,” Vince Lombardi said after the win over the Bears when reporters inquired about the kick.

“But you can only use it in the last two or three seconds of the first half or the last seconds of the game. Every training season, a league representative visits camp and explains, ‘Remember, after every fair catch: You are entitled to a free kick.'”

“We never practiced the play,” Hornung said. “I didn’t even know what the hell we were doing. I haven’t been confronted with the rule since I’ve been in the league. Of course the league explains this to us every year.”

“Jerry Kramer said, ‘Ask for a free kick immediately,’ so I said to the referee, ‘If I do that, will it be three points?'” He said, “Yes,” and then we were all clear.”

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