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          49ers' Deebo Samuel explodes through Bears' defense for electric 83-yard catch-and-run

          • Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterOct 31, 2021, 03:15 PM ET
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              Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN's coverage of the Niners' 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick's protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam's subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team's relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
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          CHICAGO -- Just when it looked like the San Francisco 49ers were about to attempt Sunday's first punt, they hit the biggest play of the game and got a much-needed offensive spark.

          On third-and-19 from their 16, the 49ers called for a quick screen to receiver Deebo Samuel off the left side. Samuel made a quick cut inside and got excellent downfield blocks from receiver Brandon Aiyuk and center Alex Mack as he raced 84 yards for an apparent touchdown.

          Upon further review, Samuel was ruled out of bounds at the 1, but quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo scored from 2 yards out a few plays later to trim Chicago's lead to 16-15.

          Samuel's catch-and-run was the Niners' longest play this season as he hit a max speed of 20.1 miles per hour, per Next Gen Stats.

          With 156 receiving yards at that point in the game, Samuel passed Jerry Rice for the most receiving yards by a Niner through the first seven games in a season.