The San Francisco 49ers reached deep into their bag of tricks on offense on Saturday to put the first points on the scoreboard on Sunday evening in an NFC West showdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
With the ball on San Francisco's own 18-yard line and the team facing a 3rd-&-12 early in the first quarter, the 49ers needed something that would not only move the chains, but perhaps shift the momentum inside Levi's Stadium. That's when offensive gurus Kyle Shanahan and Klay Kubiak dialed up an oldie –but a goodie – to create some chaos for the Cardinals: a hook-and-ladder play.
Brock Purdy checked down to Mike Evans on a short curl route, and defenders immediately closed in to bring the drive to an end. But before they could bring Evans down, he flipped
the ball backward to Deebo Samuel, who came around the edge of the play looking like greased lightning to take a lateral before hitting pay dirt for an 82-yard touchdown.
MIKE EVANS FLIPS IT TO DEEBO SAMUEL FOR AN 82-YARD 49ERS TOUCHDOWN 😱
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 27, 2026
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/jkjN2uwYZc
The play did what it needed to do. Instead of moving the chains, the 49ers did one better and found the end zone to take the lead early, and it was a play that sparked even more offensive momentum for San Francisco. It wouldn't take long for Purdy to find Evans for a 23-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0 for the 49ers, giving them a comfortable lead to start the game.
The 49ers have shown they might be one of the NFL's most dangerous offenses early this season, racing to a 2-0 start, and early signs from Sunday's showdown with the Cardinals suggest they won't be letting off the gas anytime soon.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: WATCH: 49ers shock the Cardinals with trick play to strike first blood
