The Los Angeles Chargers are back in the playoffs for the first time in four years, but at times, they had to do it the hard way.
Four of their 10 wins were decided by three points or less, and in two of those games, kicker Cameron Dicker nailed the game-winning field goal at the end to put the Bolts over the top.
After hitting one in Week 15 versus the Tennessee Titans and being nearly flawless over the last several weeks, he was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month.
#Chargers K Cameron Dicker has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month.
—Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) January 12, 2023
Dicker hasn’t missed a field goal since Week 13 at the Las Vegas Raiders, and it was the only one he missed for the Chargers out of 20 attempts ever since they picked him up prior to Week 9.
Before that, he played in Week 5 for the Philadelphia Eagles, hitting the game-winning field goal for them versus the Arizona Cardinals.
It is rare for NFL players to make the first string of any unit on any team when they go undrafted, but Dicker is the exception to that rule.
He was born in Hong Kong, making him the first such player with that distinction, and although he had his moments at the University of Texas, including making the game-winner versus the University of Oklahoma in the 2018 Red River Showdown, no one took him in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Chargers saw Dustin Hopkins and Taylor Bertolet, their first and second-string kickers, get injured, necessitating the signing of Dicker, who was on his way to a Carrie Underwood concert when his agent called with the news.
Underwood, of course, is the singer behind the iconic “Sunday Night Football” theme song, which led her to make him a generous offer.
snf tonight, @carrieunderwood concert soon.
@camerondicker | @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/4tVGLurJJ6—Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) November 13, 2022
It’s this type of story that always seems to happen in Los Angeles, the place where dreams can come true.
