The San Francisco 49ers are such a well-oiled machine that they are capable of including special celebrations or making important statements during football games.
Including special plays requires extensive practice beyond the normal practice. Led by the hard-working Brock Purdy, the team is more than happy to oblige to make special memories for their teammates.
For instance, there have been several occasions where certain team members have been celebrating a special occasion like a birthday or a personal milestone and either the coaching staff or fellow players have found a way to make sure that their teammate's special time was celebrated!
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Sometimes, as in the following instance, the players had obviously practiced a play to increase team morale.
Brandon Aiyuk's Momentous Catch in Jacksonville
You may have heard of Coach Kyle Shanahan's disapproval of Quarterback Brock Purdy's pass to Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk near the beginning of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
According to Matt Maiocco from NBC Sports Bay Area, Coach Shanahan said, "That was one of his worst decisions I think he's made since he's been here."
Rolling to the left and throwing against the body into heavy traffic was definitely not protecting the ball, for the average quarterback. However, Purdy is particularly skilled in escaping the pocket and throwing against his body; he successfully completed with a touchdown! Aiyuk, who seems to be on the same wavelength, made one of his unbelievable catches.
This pass was necessary, in my opinion, because Purdy's teammates needed to see an awesome play, after the three previous losses to Cleveland, Minnesota, and Cincinnati. The immediate repercussion of this particular play was to uplift the spirits of his teammates who immediately saw that Purdy's confidence was not shattered by the previous losses. Quarterback confidence can certainly be diminished by consecutive losses. Mac Jones of the New England Patriots has certainly been impacted by his team's loss column. The decision to "rip the ball," as Purdy has mentioned, showed Purdy's teammates that his leadership was still unwavering.
Jacksonville, which had previously won five consecutive games, experienced a resounding loss to the 49ers: 34-3.
Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel's Touchdown Runs at Lincoln Financial Field
Deebo Samuel was not happy about what happened during the National Football Conference Championship in January 2023.
Purdy and the back-up Quarterback Josh Johnson were both injured in separate events during the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the 49ers. As such, the 49ers were unable to proceed with any kind of passing game. The Eagles, knowing that every play would be on the ground, easily blocked any attempt to score beyond the first score. This loss was devastating, as the 49ers may have ended up competing in the Super Bowl, if not for the loss at the quarterback position.
As such, Samuel wanted to show the Eagles that the story may have been different, had circumstances been different. He intended to show the world how different in the December 3rd rematch.
Samuel made sure that he was often open, so that when Purdy went through his progressions, he would surely see that Samuel was open.
Sure enough, Samuel determinedly made 3 important touchdowns.
In addition, Coach Shanahan made sure that his playbook included consecutive plays that would end with consecutive touchdowns. Sure enough, each time the 49er Offense had the ball, after the first quarter, they scored a touchdown.
Final score: 49ers 42 and Eagles 19.
Tight End George Kittle's Birthday
Coincidentally, George Kittle's birthday occurred one day after the game against the Dallas Cowboys.
The 49ers trounced the Cowboys 42-10.
Included in this victory was a special plan to include touchdowns for George Kittle, who celebrated a milestone birthday on October 9, 2023.
Kittle scored three touchdowns a day before his 30th birthday! Surely Kittle's teammates wanted to make sure that he enjoyed his birthday.
The Historic Touchdown Runs of Running Back Christian McCaffrey
Finally, Coach Shanahan was criticized in the Jacksonville game for placing Christian McCaffrey back in the game when the 49er's second team were on the field.
At that point, the 49ers were decisively ahead and Coach Shanahan had replaced Purdy with back-up Quarterback Sam Darnold. The best decision would have been to rest McCaffrey and replace him with his back-up.
However, this game was historic in that McCaffrey had scored a touchdown in seventeen consecutive games. If he scored a touchdown at Jacksonville, he would break a record set by Lenny Moore during the 1963-64 season.
Unfortunately, though his team tried to ensure that he set a new record, the opportunity was lost.
I have no doubt that McCaffrey, with his intrepid teammates, can ensure that he eventually breaks Lenny Moore's record!
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Support San Jose's local newspaper, The San Jose Mercury News! If you want current information about the 49ers, you can search for "49ers" either anonymously or with your Library Card.
If you are interested in the news, we also provide free access to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
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