49ers vs. Lions: 5 Niners who impressed most in Week 1 win
By Peter Panacy
![Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/2734e73172ee483b32c8fbfdcda2c062ee651c67928e710fb8fe538f8e4eabc2.jpg)
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:
79-YARD TOUCHDOWN 🎯@JimmyG_10 x @19problemz
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 12, 2021
📺 #SFvsDET on FOX pic.twitter.com/9D9Js4mArl
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.