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Good morning. Last night, the Chargers beat the Broncos 34-27 after ending the first half with a score via a fair-catch kick, a kickoff-style field goal that we hadn’t seen made since 1976. Cameron Dicker’s 57-yarder is the longest fair-catch kick in NFL history.
Cameron Dicker makes the first Fair Catch Kick since 1976! 🤯#TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/DtmO91ikEe
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) December 20, 2024
FYI: Any fair catch may be followed by one of these kicks, but it’s typically only worth trying if there’s no time on the clock and the field position is reasonable. Later, Jim Harbaugh happily called this his “favorite rule” in football.
The victory all but guarantees L.A. (now 9-6) a playoff berth, as they need just one win against the Patriots (3-11) or Raiders (2-12) to clinch. Meanwhile, Denver (9-6) saw next week’s game against Cincinnati (6-8) grow in importance. Full takeaways here.
Inside: Your thoughts on another unusual kick from days prior, plus news on Jerod Mayo’s job security, tales of George Kittle and a Week 16 watch guide.
Mailbag: Feedback on Detroit’s aggressive choice
Lots of you shared your perspectives on Dan Campbell’s characteristically bold decision to attempt an onside kick while down 10 with 12 minutes left on Sunday. (Buffalo ended up turning it into an easy touchdown.)
Most of you believe it was too early for such an attempt, given the low odds of recovery.
“I was at the game, and I’m a Bills fan. The groan from Lions fans was palpable,” wrote Paul. (Some of these responses have been lightly edited.)
David — also not a Lions fan — added, “I’m sick of hearing, ‘Well, Campbell’s being true to who he is’ as a get-out-of-jail-free card. There’s defensible risk, and then there’s just reckless. (See the game last December when he refused to kick the extra point after being pushed back to the seven-yard line.) I fear his decision-making will doom them again this January.”
But there are also other arguments in Campbell’s favor:
- “The league’s usual 6.7 percent recovery rate doesn’t mean the decision was incorrect. Detroit’s defense was depleted and exhausted. Coaches make decisions because of the totality of factors, not a blind devotion to statistics.” — Christopher
- “There was the chance that Buffalo would do precisely what Philadelphia did to Pittsburgh: methodically run out the clock. If anything, as Campbell said on the radio yesterday, he actually should have kicked another onside kick after Detroit’s next touchdown, because in the end, Detroit’s biggest issue was running out of time.” — Andrew
- “Say the Lions instead kick off and hold the Bills to a field goal. Now they have maybe eight minutes left, down by 13. Even if the Lions march downfield for seven points, all Buffalo has to do is kick another field goal to go back up by two scores late. It wasn’t that Detroit had to stop them once: They probably needed to hold them two, maybe three more times. Too much to ask.” — Chris
My opinion? You have to give Campbell the benefit of the doubt here. Regardless of how risky the play was, his approach of playing games to win, as opposed to not losing, is one of the main reasons the Lions are near clinching a first-round bye.
Over to Dianna for the coaching vibes in New England.
What Dianna’s Hearing: Pats HC needs quality finish
Last week, I reported that Patriots owner Robert Kraft had been telling people in private that the plan is to stick with Jerod Mayo. He knew there would be bumps and bruises, following Bill Belichick. Kraft would like a multi-year run for the 38-year-old, and they’re looking for every reason to keep him for 2025.
However, the pressure is rising on the first-year head coach. Last week’s ugly loss to the Cardinals was seen as more than just one of those bumps in the road. As the team sits as 3-11, Mayo — who spent eight years as a player in New England — has to finish strong the last three weeks, with three games against playoff teams: the Bills (11-3) twice and the Chargers (9-6).
🎧 The latest from the “Scoop City” podcast: Bills WR Khalil Shakir joins to discuss how Josh Allen has weaponized this unit of pass catchers so effectively in the post-Stefon Diggs era.
Comeback
Every Friday, I share three stories from The Athletic that you might have missed.
NFL’s most interesting player?
“This is one of the best player features I’ve read on The Athletic,” said one reader of Matt Barrows’ story on the unique mind — and tattoos — of George Kittle. A fifth-round pick in 2017, Kittle arrived looking nothing like today’s version. “I was fatter,” noted Kittle, who also had short hair, no beard and not even any visible tats.
‘I’ve always wanted to be the best’
Similarly, Mark Andrews arrived as a minimally heralded third-rounder in 2018, when Baltimore also drafted another TE, Hayden Hurst, two rounds prior. No matter, as Andrews’ relentless drive led to him becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns. For more on the man under the helmet, read Jeff Zrebiec’s illuminating story.
Eli Manning: HOFer?
Is one of only six players in history with two Super Bowl MVP trophies a first-ballot Hall of Famer? Well, would it change your opinion if his career regular-season record was 117-117? What if he was never voted an All-Pro, and led the NFL in interceptions three times? Dan Pompei explores the Eli Manning argument that may never go away.
Week 16 Watch Guide
To prep your fantasy teams, you’ll want to read Jake Ciely’s Week 16 rankings. As for the schedule, games begin a day earlier than usual, and the College Football Playoff also begins tonight.
Saturday
Sunday at 1 p.m.
4:05 and 4:25 p.m.
8:20 p.m.
Monday at 8:15 p.m.
Yesterday’s most-clicked: The Athletic’s major report on the Jets, the “most dysfunctional place imaginable.”
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(Photo: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
