49ers vs. Lions: 5 Niners who impressed most in Week 1 win

No. 3: 49ers Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel

OK, wide receiver Deebo Samuel‘s fourth-quarter fumble that initially gained San Francisco a first down and should have iced the game was a disaster and could have easily cost the 49ers a win, especially looking at the context and how it all happened. Samuel should have gone down as soon as he realized he reached the first-down marker.

But if you remove that one gaffe, Samuel was a monster.

Against a questionable Lions secondary, Samuel ended up being the primary beneficiary of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s passes, including this 79-yard catch-and-run bomb that netted the Niners’ final touchdown of the day on a 3rd-and-8 pass:

Samuel’s Week 1 debut was outstanding, and the above play was a huge chunk of the eight catches and 189 yards the third-year pro put together in the regular-season opener.

The only negative, of course, was Samuel’s fumble. But it’s pretty safe to say Samuel did more than his fair share to ensure San Francisco came away with a Week 1 win.