Overview
- Samuel took a lateral from Mike Evans on the 49ers’ first drive and ran 80 yards for a touchdown in the game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
- Because he grabbed the ball after a teammate’s catch, the box score credited him with 80 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown despite him having zero targets and zero catches.
- The 80 receiving yards without a catch are the most ever recorded in an NFL game and surpassed the prior mark of 65 yards attributed to Timmy Brown, though sources differ on whether Brown’s mark came in 1961 or 1965.
- Samuel also had two rushes for 14 yards and recovered the Cardinals’ late onside kick as the 49ers improved to 3-0 for the season.
- Under NFL scoring rules a player who gains possession after a teammate’s reception can be credited with receiving stats, a rare scoring quirk that required verification from league researchers and pushed outlets to cross-check the long-standing historical record.