During Sunday afternoon’s win over the Panthers, the Lions ran a trick play on which the quarterback pitched the ball to the running back, who pitched the ball to a wide receiver, who pitched the ball back to the quarterback, who threw a touchdown pass to the tight end along the right sideline.
A few hours player, the 49ers ran the same play in their win over the Cowboys.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said he was watching the early games when he saw the Lions score on that play, which he was already planning to call against the Cowboys. He said seeing the Lions do it successfully made him feel good about the 49ers’ chances.
“Detroit ran it earlier in the day, they scored,” Shanahan said. “I saw it before the game. Based off what we were going against today we planned on calling it, but definitely, seeing it work for someone else gives you more confidence.
Shanahan said the play is called “toss 18 flea flicker” in the 49ers’ offense, and they’ve been practicing it for years.
“We installed it a couple years ago,” Shanahan said. “Just brought it out today.”
Both the Lions and 49ers brought it out at the right time.