Deebo Samuel sent a message to Kyle Shanahan in the third quarter of the 49ers' 23-17 NFC Wild Card Game win against the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday: Give me the ball.
As it has so many times this season, that plan worked to perfection.
Following a D.J. Jones sack of quarterback Dak Prescott and then K'Waun Williams intercepting Prescott, Samuel took an outside zone handoff to the right, cut back against Dallas' defense and ran 26 yards to give the 49ers a commanding 23-7 lead.
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Whether you think of Babe Ruth pointing to the bleachers or Steph Curry turning around while a 3-point attempt hangs in the air, Deebo did what only a handful of athletes can pull off. He called his shot, and with success under the bright lights.
Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has been amazed by Smauel all season long. But even he couldn't believe what had just happened.
"I've been doing this for a long time and I've never, ever, ever been around a football player that called his own shot," McDaniel said. "I get it in basketball, but when you're playing with 22 people on the field, 11 of them are trying to tackle you with every ounce of being that they have, and you just say, ‘Hey, yeah, give me the ball, I'm going to put the ball in the box,’ and for him to do it, that was a special moment that only a special player could accomplish."
San Francisco 49ers
Samuel has turned into the 49ers' ultimate weapon and perhaps the best playmaker in the NFL. He has brought the playground to the pros and is excelling wherever the 49ers need him. That continued against the Cowboys as he had 110 total yards -- 38 receiving and 72 rushing -- and scored that game-sealing touchdown.
Shanahan and McDaniel played Samuel 19 times out wide, 13 times in the slot and 13 times in the backfield in the 49ers' wild-card win. Expect the self-proclaimed wide-back to again be used all over the field against the Packers.
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"The evolution of how we use him, that's a product of two things," McDaniel said. "Him being a really good football player and I think Kyle does an outstanding job of really pushing his staff to open their mind and see what's there maybe that we haven't done or really think through the whys of everything that we do. So that combination of a skill set with a particular player and the drive that Kyle's been pushing on me since the day I started working with him.
"Those type of things end up rendering the results that you guys are seeing from a whole staff perspective. We're all committed to utilizing our players the best way we can. And every person on the offensive staff contributes in that direction. It takes a village to do things that maybe haven't been necessarily done with specific players."
There's only one Deebo, and don't be surprised if he makes our jaws drop again this Saturday in Green Bay.