Inside the 49ers play that led to Deebo Samuel’s wild stat vs. Cardinals

If you didn't watch the San Francisco 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, you might scratch your head at the final statistics.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel didn't catch a pass in the Week 3 matchup but finished with 80 receiving yards and a touchdown. That yardage came on the first scoring play of the game, a spectacular trick play that sparked plenty of energy from the Levi's Stadium crowd.

Samuel finished with the most receiving yards in a game without recording a reception.

The 49ers faced a third-and-12 from their own 18-yard line when head coach Kyle Shanahan reached into his bag of tricks and called a hook-and-lateral play. Quarterback Brock Purdy threw to wide receiver Mike Evans, who was immediately tackled by Cardinals safety Andrew Wingard well short of the first down.

But by the time Wingard looked up, Evans had tossed the ball back to Samuel, who burst down the left sideline and beat the Cardinals defenders for an 80-yard touchdown.

The Cardinals weren't really sure what hit them and didn't account for Samuel's speed along the boundary.

"Oh, it was crazy because we walked through that play like once this week," Samuel said after the game. "It was kind of crazy. We called it [while] kind of backed up. It was third-and-long. Once I seen Mike catch the ball and it was two guys on him, I was like, if I get around here, it ain't gonna be nobody. And [Cardinals S] Budda [Baker] showed up, and [I] showed the speed that people don't think I got."

A confident Samuel was not the least bit intimidated by seeing Baker, a four-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection, coming at him on the way to the end zone.

"My mindset has always been the same: don't let one guy bring me down," Samuel said. "I seen him, and just the mindset I have is just getting to the end zone."

Purdy shared his perspective on the play and watching his teammate turn a short reception into a long touchdown.

"Obviously, great play call in that moment, especially early in the game," Purdy said. "I mean, Kyle does some really cool things where he draws up certain plays in third-and-longs or second-and-longs. Just like any other team in the NFL, if you watch, there's usually some weird plays that can also happen.

"But we had the right look, guys matched to Mike, got him the ball. Mike did a good job of sort of taking the hit and then delivering it to Deebo. And for Deebo to just go and take off, that's what he does best. He's a playmaker. Just a great play call, and then I thought we executed it really well."

When asked about the bizarre resulting stat line, Samuel confirmed that he'd never seen anything like it before.

Shanahan admitted he wasn't quite sure what to call the play that gave the 49ers the first points of the game.

"It's not really a flea flicker. I don't know what it is," Shanahan said. "It's a lateral. It's crazy when Deebo has zero catches, but has 80 yards of reception. It was awesome. Great ball by Brock, great job by Mike to catch it clean. He took a hit as he was tossing it to Deebo, and that's what Deebo does best—he finishes and scores."

Shanahan pushed back on the notion that the play is a "trick play," noting that he has called it several times before and that other teams around the league have used similar concepts. However, he saw an opportunity to use it given the situation.

"We did it a couple of times last year," Shanahan explained. "Something we've done probably four times in the last two years. It was third-and-long ... We knew you can't throw over everybody at that time, and we hoped everyone would suck up on Mike and toss it to Deebo."

Shanahan said the play was not part of the team's opening script. However, he added, "It was one of our top calls on third-and-12-plus in that section."

The Cardinals may have been caught off guard by Samuel's speed. The veteran receiver remained a free agent for much of the offseason, with many wondering if he had lost a step at age 30. Clearly, he remains fast enough to still be a playmaker within Shanahan's offense.

Samuel acknowledged that he heard the chatter about his diminished speed but decided to use the doubts as motivation.

"I just hear it in the offseason, but just use that as a little motivation to just go out here and play the game," Samuel said.

Tackle Trent Williams didn't even realize the play to Samuel was going to happen. After all, he simply listens for the protection call on any given play. The offensive lineman was asked what he was thinking when he saw the receiver scamper downfield.

"I'm like, damn, Deebo's running fast as hell," Williams said.

Shanahan doesn't quite understand the narrative surrounding Samuel's speed heading into the 2026 season. The player is pretty much what Shanahan remembers from Samuel's first stint with the team before spending a season with the Washington Commanders.

"I think Deebo's not much different at all than when he was here last time," Shanahan said. "I mean, he was only gone for a year. But I think, just whether it was the last couple of years Deebo was here or even now, just like all these guys, they understand how long a season is, how much goes into it.

"I think Deebo's doing an awesome job taking care of his body, an awesome job preparing throughout the week. He came into camp unbelievable, and he's just in shape and everything in his conditioning, and he's still doing the same thing right now. He hasn't let up at all."

Linebacker Fred Warner, who watched the play unfold from the sideline, knows Samuel remains a versatile offensive weapon that defenses can't fully account for. He's grateful the veteran playmaker returned to the 49ers this season.

"Deebo, he's just giving himself a great opportunity to capitalize in the moments where the ball is obviously in his hands," Warner said. "He's always been a dynamic playmaker and has the ability to take a top off a defense. Or obviously, when the ball's in his hands, guys having a hard time bringing him to the ground.

"So yeah, honestly, it helps, too, that he plays alongside a lot of really talented players. A defense has to account for so many different playmakers on our offense that you don't know who's getting the ball, which plays, at what time of the game. So Deebo's a huge part of what we do, for sure."

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