NFL

'It's just second nature' – 49ers' star Samuel revels in highlight-reel touchdown

By Sports Desk October 04, 2022

Deebo Samuel described his tackle-breaking abilities as "second nature" after his outstanding 57-yard catch-and-run touchdown helped the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams.

Samuel provided the standout moment of an accomplished 49ers performance on Monday, as they prevented the Rams from scoring a single touchdown in a dominant 24-9 home win.

Jimmy Garoppolo looked destined to throw an interception late in the second quarter, only for Samuel to turn a fine catch into a touchdown as he skipped past several Rams challenges.  

The wide receiver caught six passes for 115 yards as the 49ers moved to 2-2 for the season.

"My mentality, it's just me and the ball out there. What happened after that is something that I work on all the time and I got in the box," Samuel said.

"Every time I get the chance to get the ball in my hands, it's just my mentality of trying to make it a big play, but it's just second nature to me right now.

"When I go out there it's just me and the ball. Breaking tackles is just something I do all the time."

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Samuel's run: "It was impressive. 

"At first it looked like a pick. It was close, that corner was teeing off on it. 

"We had to wait a little bit because the guy inside, they ran into each other. We had to hesitate just a hair for Deebo to come down with that throw, then he did the rest. 

"When you get the ball in his hands, I think he's shown he does some pretty cool things."

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