Breaking Down NFL's Free Kick Rule After 49ers' Attempt vs. Rams

Week 4's Thursday night NFC West showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the host St. Louis Rams took a turn for the strange at the end of the first half.

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh elected to give kicker Phil Dawson a shot at a free kick—a rare strategy that caused confusion amongst fans and everyone involved in the game. 

Dawson is a historically stupendous kicker, but he is 38 years old after all, and this was a 71-yard attempt—sure to smash the NFL record if he were to nail it through the uprights.

As might be expected, the wily veteran overexerted himself a bit in the process. He came up well short and pulled it to the left:

Thankfully, the NFC's Director of Communications, Randall Liu, was on hand to provide the rulebook definition:

Here is a full description of the ruling, per NFL.com:

"

After a fair catch, the receiving team has the option to put the ball in play by a snap or a fair catch kick (field goal attempt), with fair catch kick lines established ten yards apart. All general rules apply as for a field goal attempt from scrimmage. The clock starts when the ball is kicked. (No tee permitted.)

"

Rams receiver Austin Pettis caught the kick and attempted to run it out of the end zone, bidding to put up a miraculous score to give St. Louis momentum going into halftime. It wasn't to be, as he was tackled around the 10-yard line and the Rams trailed 14-3 at the intermission.

The Niners could afford to take the risk with such a commanding lead, although in retrospect, perhaps letting strong-armed quarterback Colin Kaepernick chuck it to the end zone might have been a better move.