On Sept. 11, 2011, head coach Jim Harbaugh made his debut with the San Francisco 49ers. Just like this season, the Niners opened up Week 1 against their NFC West nemesis, the Seattle Seahawks.
This was one of the last eras that San Francisco was a threat on special teams, in terms of the return game. The 49ers had almost given up a 16-0 lead when the Hawks came back trailing 19-17 with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Inside of four minutes to go in regulation, San Francisco scored a touchdown, courtesy of wide receiver Tedd Ginn Jr.'s 102-yard kickoff return. David Akers then kicked the extra point, one of his 15 points in the game.
What Ginn was about to do next has not been done since by any 49ers player on special teams.
It's been forever since a 49ers player returned a punt for a TD
After the Seahawks failed to move the chains their following possession, they were forced to punt.
That's when Ginn added to the scoreboard for the second time in the same quarter. His 55-yard punt return put up another six points for the Niners, and Akers' point-after score gave him 15 points on the day.
Ginn had been a phenom on special teams since his days with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He returned six different punt returns for touchdowns during his collegiate football career.
Half of Ginn's punt returns for touchdowns were as a member of the 49ers. That was also the last game in which he scored a kickoff return for a score, too.
No player for San Francisco has brought back a punt return to the end zone since, making that a 14-year gap. Skyy Moore has been listed as the 49ers' punt returner as second-year receiver Jacob Cowing is on injured reserve and rookie wideout Jordan Watkins has also been out.
Ginn went on to record his last punt return for six points with the Arizona Cardinals in 2014.
The last time the Niners scored a touchdown off a kickoff return was in December of 2018, also against Seattle when wide receiver Richie James accomplished the feat.
It's been even longer since a punt was returned for a score.