• Nick Wagner, ESPN staff writerOctober 10, 2024, 9:05 PM ET

    Closes

      Nick Wagner is an NFL reporter for ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL for ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. During his 10 years with the company, Nick led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL, Sam’s subsequent quest for a roster spot, and Team transfer and stadium saga. You can follow Nick on Twitter @nwagoner

SEATTLE — The 49ers finally found the cure to their red zone woes early in the second quarter of Thursday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The answer? Don’t run any plays there.

After their first drive was stopped at the Seattle 7 and had to settle for a field goal, the 49ers got a much-needed blitz on their third possession.

On 1st-and-10 from the 24, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan called for a play-action pass while quarterback Brock Purdy faked a handoff to running back Jordan Mason, flipped his hips and lofted one down the left sideline to receiver Deebo Samuel Sr.

As Seahawks safety Julian Love approached, Samuel jumped and grabbed Love and neither got a piece of the ball nor Samuel. Samuel took care of the rest, racing for 53 yards after hauling it in for 76 yards.

For Samuel, this tied for the second-longest touchdown of his career and is the third-longest touchdown of his career of 75 yards or longer. Two of them came against Seattle.

The extra point gave the 49ers a 10-0 lead, and they extended it to 13-0 with another field goal shortly after.



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