Deebo Samuel Sr. — Week 3: Eighty Yards on a Lateral
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 28
Samuel took Mike Evans's lateral 80 yards for the game's first touchdown on third and twelve from the San Francisco 18, carried twice for 14 yards, and returned four kickoffs for 79 yards; he was not targeted. He also fielded Arizona's onside kick with 34 seconds left, in a 36–30 win over the Cardinals.
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Nothing to nothing, eight 40 left in the first quarter, third and 12 at the San Francisco 18. Brock Purdy threw short left to Mike Evans, who caught it at the 20 and lateraled to Deebo Samuel, and Samuel went 80 yards for the touchdown. +7.7 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and 20.1 points of win probability, the chance of winning the game after the play against before it. Both were the largest figures on any play of the game. The play goes in the book as a pass to Evans; Samuel's 80 count as receiving yards and a touchdown with no reception.
The line: no targets, the 80 yards and the touchdown on the lateral, and two carries for 14 yards and one first down. The carries were three around left end on second and 10 from the San Francisco 20 in the first quarter, and 11 around left end on first and 10 at the Arizona 26 with 10 32 left in the fourth, pushed out at the 15, on the drive that ended in George Kittle's first touchdown. He returned four kickoffs for 79 yards: 28 to the San Francisco 32 in the second quarter; 24 to the 27 with 23 seconds left in the half, before the 34-yard throw to Jordan Watkins and a 57-yard field goal; 10 to open the second half, with 15 more on a face-mask penalty against Arizona, on the drive that ended in Christian McCaffrey's touchdown; and 17 after he muffed a kickoff at the one and recovered it at the six. With 34 seconds left and San Francisco up six, he fielded Arizona's onside kick at the Arizona 45, and Purdy knelt on the next snap.
Purdy threw 26 passes with a receiver, and none went to Samuel. George Kittle had seven, Evans six, McCaffrey five.
Back in June the preview was written while Samuel had no team, and its question was whether the volume under his 20 25 numbers would hold wherever he landed. Week 1 was seven targets, a touchdown, a carry and two kickoff returns; Week 2 was four targets, a carry and one return. Sunday was his first game of the season without a target, his most carries, and four returns. Three games: 11 targets, nine catches, 79 yards on catches plus the 80 on the lateral. The target share fell to nothing on a day Purdy threw 27 times; one game does not make that a trend. San Francisco is home to the Broncos on Sunday the fourth.
_Data via nflverse._
When Deebo Samuel Sr.'s week moves the numbers, you'll know — every episode, in one weekly email.
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