ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton was kicking himself after Denver surrendered both the momentum and the NFL's first successful fair-catch kick in 48 years.
Cameron Dicker's gift 57-yard field goal sparked the Chargers' 34-27 comeback Thursday night that snapped Denver's four-game winning streak and prevented the Broncos (9-6) from clinching their first playoff berth since 2015.
“It's just a dumb penalty,” said Tremon Smith, who ran into punt returner Derius Davis at the Chargers' 38 as the first half expired. The 15-yard penalty moved the ball past midfield, opening the door for the league's first successful fair-catch kick since Ray Wersching did it 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 swept 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-calling in the final minute of the first half that allowed the Chargers to employ the seldom-used rule that allows a team that has just made a fair catch to try a free kick for three points, one that's attempted from the line of scrimmage with defenders at least 10 yards away.
Having scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, the Broncos were up 21-10 when they got the ball back at their 18 with 41 seconds left before halftime.
Rather than run out the clock, Payton dialed up a pair of Bo Nix passes to running back Javonte Williams. Although the first one lost three yards, it burned up 24 seconds. But the second one fell incomplete, stopping the clock at 17 seconds.
So, when Williams rushed for a yard on third down, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh called timeout with 8 seconds left. All those seconds ticked away on Riley Dixon's punt, but Smith's penalty gave LA an untimed down in Denver territory and Dicker trotted out for the rare field goal.
“Typically, you’d be pretty conservative,” Payton said. “We were going to have the ball (to start the third quarter). We ran a screen and then when the clock got low enough, we didn’t get any momentum going there."
They didn't really have the momentum the rest of the night, either.
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 its playoff clincher.
“We had a fast start, I was encouraged by that," Payton said. "Then uncharacteristically this season, we didn’t finish or play nearly well enough in the second half, both offensively and defensively."
Payton had rolled the dice by agreeing to move up the game to Thursday night. He did so because it bumped the Bengals' game against Cleveland to the weekend. The Broncos travel to Cincinnati next week, so it'll be the Bengals coming off a short week instead of Denver.
But failing to finish in LA puts the Broncos in a precarious position as they close out against Joe Burrow, followed by their season finale against Kansas City.
They still have an 86% chance to make the playoffs but they'll have an extra long layoff now to contemplate blowing a golden chance to clinch before the holidays.
What’s working
Denver's defense leads the league with 51 sacks. The Broncos had a pair Thursday night from unlikely sources: ILB Drew Sanders and OLB Dondrea Tillman.
What needs help
Again, the ground game. The Broncos ran seven times for 53 yards on their opening drive, which ended with rookie Audric Estime's first career touchdown. After that, they ran 14 times for 57 yards with Estime finishing with a team-high nine carries for 48 yards.
Stock up
WR Marvin Mims Jr. The reigning AFC special teams Player of the Week, Mims didn't have any punt returns Thursday night but he did have a 53-yard catch and appeared to draw a big penalty on a deep pass when his defender hit him early and never looked for the ball, but no flag was thrown.
“I thought he got there a little early, but I talked to the ref after, and he said it was good timing by him,” Mims said. “At the end of the day, that’s all I can say about it.”
Stock down
Tremon Smith said he was “well aware” of the fair-catch kick rule the Chargers used to turn the tide: “I’ve been playing a long time. It’s just a dumb penalty. The returner did a good job of selling it. He knows he’s running into me, even though he wasn’t going to catch the ball. But like I said, dumb penalty.”
Injuries
RB Jaleel McLaughlin (thigh) was inactive.
Key number
6 — games Bo Nix has had multiple touchdown passes without an interception. That's tied for the most in NFL history for a rookie QB (Russell Wilson in 2012, Justin Herbert in 2020 and C.J. Stroud in 2023).
What’s next
The Broncos visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Dec. 28.
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