Goodwin’s TD told story far greater than just victory
Just when everyone at Levi’s Stadium was about to fall asleep Sunday afternoon, Kyle Shanahan dialed up a deep, bold play and not only turned a football game the 49ers’ way, but maybe the entire fortunes of the franchise’s new regime.
If nothing else, the bright young coach may have helped ease a wide receiver’s excruciating personal pain ever so slightly. Say a prayer that it did.
Shanahan has been trying to hit ultra-speedy wide receiver Marquise Goodwin all season with the long ball, and while there have been some long catches, Shanahan’s quarterbacks have never quite connected for that huge home run which might serve to shift the 49ers’ offense into a higher gear. Goodwin has muffed a few big tosses as well, so like an actual victory, you had to wonder if it was ever go-
ing to happen.
But finally, in Game No. 10, against a most obliging New York Giants defense, everything came together for the incredible 83yard scoring Goodwin hookup. It was even more incredible in retrospect, when it was learned that Goodwin made the biggest play of the season in the wake of a personal tragedy he and his wife Morgan had suffered earlier in the day.
Goodwin, who dressed hurriedly and left the locker room after the game and did not speak with the media, subsequently announced on an Instagram post that he and his wife lost their infant son early Sunday morning due to complications during pregnancy.
Clearly, when Goodwin scored his touchdown, there was something more going on with his reaction than elation. He pointed to the sky as he crossed the goal line, then crumpled to the ground in prayer as trailing teammates ran to pick him up and congratulate him. Goodwin was subsequently very demonstrative on the sidelines, weeping and pointing to the sky several more times.
The magnitude of his emotional outpouring wasn’t known until later. But to play in a football game following a personal loss that heartbreaking tells you something about these 49ers players and how much they still care about this difficult season. Safety Eric Reid summed up the feelings of the entire team regarding Goodwin.
“He had a family situation today and it’s tough for him,” said Reid. “But I have so much respect for him to come out here and still play with the hurt he had in his heart and to ball out.”
We all should. Maybe there was some sort of divine providence at work, but the long touchdown play unfolded in a most spectacular way, like something out of a dream. Trailing 6-3 in the second quarter and backed up on their own 17 with a third-and-eight situation, Shanahan looked at his play chart and decided to go for broke.
Just as important, the team executed the play to perfection. As rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard dropped back, the protection by the line was stout. Tailback Carlos Hyde threw a crucial lock on one edge, and tight end Garrett Celek threw one on the other side. Goodwin exploded full throttle straight down the field and blew by the last line of the defense. Beathard stepped hard into his throw and lofted one 56 yards in the air — from the Niners’ own 8 to the Giants’ 36 — and Goodwin caught it in perfect stride.
It’s difficult to say that one dramatic play can erase the misery of the first nine consecutive losses and that now the 49ers will be winning games happily ever after. But there was definitely some sort of magical release after that incredible hookup. Later in the quarter, Celek would get loose for a 47-yard reception from Beathard. In the second half, Beathard himself sprinted around right end for an 11-yard score, and Matt Breida had a scoot-and-sprint 33-yard scoring run that served to lock down the 49ers’ eventual 31-21 victory.
Up until the Goodwin bomb, nothing was really happening. After it, everything did, and nobody was happier than the first-year head coach.
“We’ve done some explosive things this year, but we haven’t gotten any explosive touchdowns,” Shanahan said. “It was just nice today to get one, not only that play but the one to Celek and the one to Breida. It just felt real nice to see some of those explosive guys making a hell of play and finishing for points, touchdowns.”
Free agent acquisition Goodwin, a former Olympic star who was a two-time NCAA long jump champion, hadn’t caught a touchdown all year but it hasn’t been for a lack of Shanahan trying, or the player’s. He’d had five catches over 40 yards, including a 55-yarder last week against Arizona.
“Marquise is the fastest guy in the NFL, so if we give C.J. enough time to get the ball off to him, those kinds of plays are going to happen,” Hyde said.
“Marquise is one of those guys that you can’t overthrow,” added Beathard. “You just try to throw it as far as you can and he’ll get to it somehow.”
That’s pretty much how it happened. Reid, watching from the sidelines, had been waiting all season for that one. Understanding the bigger picture of what Goodwin was going through, it meant even more to witness it.
“When you’ve got a deep threat like Marquise, you’ve got to figure out a way to use him,” Reid said. “So I’m glad we were able to get him the ball like that, especially on a day like today for him.”
Indeed, it’s a play the 49ers and their fans may be recalling for years, one that really got their new era rolling. If not, it’s a play that will forever mean something special to a man and his family. In a perfect world, it does both.