The 49ers' Best Moment of 2021
You might not remember, but the 49ers' season nearly ended in Chicago on Halloween.
They were 2-4, they had lost four games in a row and were losing at halftime to the terrible Bears. Jimmy Garoppolo was on the verge of getting benched, and the 49ers were one loss away from playing Trey Lance and planning for the future.
The Bears got the ball first in the second half and kicked a field goal. They were leading 16-9. The 49ers needed to score to keep pace.
They got the ball after the Bears kicked the field goal and, on first and 10 from the 49ers 25, Elijah Mitchell rushed for no gain. Then on second and 10, Kyle Juszczyk committed an illegal block above the waist. Which brought up second and 19, when Garoppolo threw an incomplete pass intended for backup tight end Charlie Woerner.
Now it was third and 19, and it seemed like the season was slipping away. I thought the 49ers probably would hand the ball off on third and long, gain a few yards, punt and then lose to the Bears. I was preparing questions to ask Kyle Shanahan after the game. Hard questions.
Instead, Shanahan called a simple screen pass to Deebo Samuel, and then something magical happened.
Samuel ran through the Bears defense to pick up the first down easily, and then kept going. He ran 83 yards -- the third longest reception of the season in the NFL -- and got tackled at the one yard line. The 49ers scored a couple plays later.
This was the play of the season in the NFL, and it certainly was the most important moment of the year for the 49ers, because it made the rest of their improbable turnaround possible.
