Kyle Shanahan Explains 'Screw It Play' Call That Led to 80-Yard 49ers TD vs. Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan detailed the team's 80-yard touchdown in which Deebo Samuel took a lateral from Mike Evans into the end zone during a 36-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3.

"For lack of better words, it was just a screw it play," Shanahan explained during a Thursday appearance on KNBR's Dirty Work podcast. "I'm frustrated we're about to go three-and-out. We're in third and 13, which is usually a surrender down where you call a screen or a draw. I was really pissed that we had a false start the first play, I didn't want to go three-and-out at all and that was the best chance to get one. So, you just kind of throw it out there. If you do it every week, it's never gonna work so you try to do it on certain occasions."

"I never went into that game at all thinking, 'Hey, I'm gonna do this on the first third down,'" he added. "But it was just an impulsive thing that ended up working out."

On third down with 12 yards to gain during San Francisco's opening drive of the game, Evans hauled in a pass from Brock Purdy and was about to be tackled short of the sticks.

Before Evans was brought down completely, he pitched the ball back to Samuel for the 80-yard score.

After the win, Samuel revealed that the 49ers didn't practice the play often in the week leading up to the game.

"Oh, it was crazy because we walked through that play like once this week," Samuel said, via David Bonilla of 49ers Web Zone. "It was kind of crazy. We called it [while] kind of backed up. It was third-and-long. Once I seen Mike catch the ball and it was two guys on him, I was like, if I get around here, it ain't gonna be nobody. And [Cardinals safety] Budda [Baker] showed up, and [I] showed the speed that people don't think I got."

Samuel finished the game with 80 yards despite not hauling in a reception, representing the most receiving yards in NFL history in a game in which the player had zero catches (h/t ESPN's Nick Wagoner ).

Shanahan and the 49ers' offense have started the 2026 season on a high note, ranking No. 2 among all teams by averaging 32.7 points per game.

With the win over Arizona, San Francisco improved to 3-0.