TAMPA, Fla. – Deebo Samuel’s made a career out of being a physical football player, but when it came to swiping at teammate Taybor Pepper’s throat Sunday, it was obviously an “out of character” moment.
Samuel had first confronted kicker Jake Moody for his third missed field goal Sunday when Pepper, the veteran long snapper, came to his defense, prompting Samuel’s left hand to lurch at Pepper’s throat and ricochet off Moody’s helmet.
“He was telling him to lock in,” Pepper explained after Moody rebounded to make his first career walk-off field goal in the 49ers’ 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs.
“We know what our job is. We’ve got us,” Pepper said. “It’s hard being a specialist. Sometimes it’s feast of famine.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said he did not see Samuel’s verbal then physical attack, downplaying it publicly to reporters by noting “brothers scuffle” and peace would be brokered by the time their flight lands Sunday night in San Jose.
While Shanahan said he didn’t speak to Moody before the 44-yard game-winner, and special teams coordinator Brian Schneider told this news organization he spoke to Moody plenty and the second-year kicker was all good.
No one’s voice carried more than Samuel’s after Moody’s third and final miss.
“He had a little dog in him, a little motivation to go out there and make the (winning) field goal,” Samuel said. “I was talking to him at first and wasn’t saying nothing crazy. I was frustrated in the time. He went out there and won the game for us. He wasn’t bothered by it so we move past it.”
Moody, after missing three previous games with a high-ankle sprain, made a 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead but then hooked a 49-yarder wide left. He rebounded to make a 33-yarder, but then came the fourth-quarter flurry, with him hooking a 50-yarder left before slicing a 44-yarder right, that latter one touching off the Deebo Dispute with 3:09 left and the 49ers ahead 20-17.
The Bucs responded with a game-tying field goal from 26 yards, by one-time 49ers temp Chase McLaughlin, before Brock Purdy directed a last-minute drive that allowed for Moody’s 44-yard winner.
“Really, really wanted a chance to redeem myself,” Moody said. “I felt really confident, really good going that direction. It was the same exact spot as the previous kick, so I felt really confident. What happened with the previous one I was able to make an adjustment.”
Moody credited his teammates and coaches for trustring him, for “picking me up” in an “emotional game.”
“As a young developing specialist like Jake is, the best mental exercise you can have, I don’t know how much better it gets than missing three straight than having to step up and hit almost a 50-yard game winner,” Pepper said. “I’m super proud of Jake.”
Moody, who struggled at the end of last season’s rookie year, said an apology from Samuel wouldn’t be necessary, and not just because of the “heat of the moment” circumstances.
“We won, so that’s all that matters,” Moody said. “There doesn’t need to be. It’s heat of the moment. It happens. I do have to make those kicks at the end of the day. That’s all I’m focused on, not anything like (an apology).”
This was the first game the 49ers won on a Moody kick, but it was not his first shot opportunity; he missed a 41-yard attempt with six seconds left last year in Cleveland as the 49ers lost 19-17 and fell to 5-1.
Moody blamed his first and third misses Sunday on changing winds, and he thanked Pepper for rushing to his side in the confrontation with Samuel.
“He had my back. Just making sure everyone stayed calm and collective, nothing got too crazy,” Moody said. “It’s a lot of emotions that happened in the game. We were able to quiet it down and just focus on the last one.”
