49ers’ Week 10 play of the game: Goodwin’s 83-yard TD

We break down the San Francisco 49ers’ play of the game from their Week 10 matchup with the New York Giants — a 83-yard pass to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard’s long touchdown pass to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin was the Niners’ Week 10 play of the game for a number of reasons, the least of which being that it was the 49ers’ first touchdown of the game and a long third-down conversion.

After the game, we learned, earlier that morning, Goodwin and his wife lost their baby boydue to complications surrounding his wife’s pregnancy, which explains Goodwin’s emotional reaction after the score.

The 49ers begin the third-down play on their 17-yard line, with eight yards to gain for a first down. The 49ers line up in 11 personnel in a tight formation, with tight end Garrett Celek lined up in the backfield.

As head coach Kyle Shanahan is prone to do on third down, he goes for a big shot down the field. Shanahan keeps his running back and tight end in to block, has his X and Y receivers run comeback routes beyond the sticks, and sends Goodwin on a deep post route:

The Giants try to overload the right side of the 49ers’ line by blitizing linebacker Jonathan Casillas and safety Landon Collins.

Meanwhile, defensive end Olivier Vernon and linebacker Curtis Grant fake the initial blitz and then sprint back to cover the middle of the field:

Unfortunately for the Giants, 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne gets open beyond the sticks before Vernon and Grant can retreat back to defend against the pass.

This forces cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to step up to defend against Bourne, which leaves the deep middle of the field wide open for Goodwin:

49ers running back Carlos Hyde and Celek do a great job picking up the blitz, giving Beathard a clean pocket to make the long throw:

Cornerback Janoris Jenkins can’t keep up with the speedy Goodwin, who catches the deep pass, pushes the corner to the ground and takes the ball into the end zone for the score:

This long touchdown required a great play call from Shanahan, and great execution by Beathard and his blockers; it also required Goodwin’s speed, and his strength both on and offthe field