LAS VEGAS — Call this play the “San Fran Special” and call Jauan Jennings a potential MVP.
Jennings on Sunday became the second player to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same Super Bowl, executing a trick play late in the second quarter and breaking the goal line early for the game-winning point. Made NFL history. 49ers 4th quarter.
However, nothing prevented the 49ers from losing to the Chiefs 25-22 in overtime in the 2024 Super Bowl.
Jennings caught a side pass from Brock Purdy and threw the ball back across the field to Christian McCaffrey.
The throw was a bit of a duck, but the trick was successful when McCaffrey accelerated, ripped through two defenders, and ran 21 yards to the end zone, recovering the fumble he had lost earlier.
“I had to make sure I got behind the line of scrimmage to be a backwards pass,” Jennings said. “I had to find a route across the middle. Then I turned around to throw to Christian, but he was wide open.”
This was Jennings’ first official pass attempt in his three-year NFL career, but he was a four-star two-way quarterback in high school in Rivals.com’s rankings before converting to receiver and immediately contributing. He was a new player at the back. Tennessee.
Jennings claims he threw a pass once before and may have been erased from the box score due to a penalty, but the video shows the 49ers using the same play against the Bengals in 2018 and another receiver It shows he was throwing a pass.
“I threw it a little short at first,” Jennings said.
The last time a player other than a quarterback threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl was the “Philly Special,” and a statue was erected outside Lincoln Financial Field to mark the iconic moment of the Eagles’ only Super Bowl victory. It is commemorated.
The receiver on this play, quarterback Nick Foles, is the other player to have a touchdown catch and a touchdown pass in the same Super Bowl.
Jennings made history with a 10-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter after the 49ers avoided a tying field goal and made it a dangerous 4th-and-3 on George Kittle’s catch.
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Perhaps most impressively, Jennings, who finished with four catches for 42 yards, broke a tackle at the 3-yard line and struggled across the goal line.
Often overshadowed in the receiving corps by do-it-all Deebo Samuel and 1,300-yard wideout Brandon Aiyuk, Jennings scored one touchdown during the regular season.
But the Super Bowl was his breakthrough game.
“Jaouan was great,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “I love his mentality. He’s always ready to step up and make big plays in big situations. He’s a guy we can trust.”
Due to coach Kyle Shanahan’s machinations, the 49ers dominated the box score but built a 10-0 lead with too many points off the scoreboard. What is the trick play philosophy?
“I think we have to be strategic,” Shanahan said before the game. “It’s not just about being aggressive.”
