Why the 49ers think Siran Neal delivered play of the game in win over Broncos
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Trent Williams has seen a lot of football over his 17-year NFL career. He's still able to appreciate greatness when he sees it.
Early in the third quarter of the San Francisco 49ers' 24-14 win on Sunday over the Denver Broncos, Williams witnessed "one of the best special-team plays I've seen." With the game deadlocked at 3-3, and the 49ers having gone three-and-out for the second straight drive to open the half, Siran Neal brought the first sign of life to Levi's Stadium as the gunner on a punt return.
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Punter Corliss Waitman kicked from the 49ers' 11-yard line. Neal, a 32-year-old special teams ace, tracked down returner Marvin Mims Jr., forcing and recovering a fumble to gift his team a possession just outside the red zone. The play set up the Niners for their first touchdown of the afternoon, plus two more on consecutive drives. The 49ers outscored the Broncos 21-11 after that moment.
"I told Siran that was the play of the game," Williams said. "I don't know how this game turns out without that play."
Here's how Neal broke down the play: He was lined up as a gunner - meaning he was the lead tackler sprinting downfield to try to make first contact with the return man - for the Broncos' fourth punt return of the game. He had noticed that on Denver's first two punts, he was being defended by only one player. But on the third and fourth punts, Neal was the "vise," meaning two Broncos were lined up with the goal of jamming him once the ball got snapped.
On this punt, Neal told the Chronicle, "I just knew that I was going to have to get down the field and make the play."
With the snap headed toward Waitman kicking from the end zone, Neal extended his right arm to the shoulder of the Broncos' Kris Abrams-Draine. He got outside leverage, bolted up the sideline and met Mims about five yards away from his catch point. One-on-one in the open field, Neal lunged at a juking Mims, grabbing his right ankle with his right arm to pull him to the grass as the ball popped loose… where Neal had snuck his left arm under Mims' body to scoop the ball for a fumble recovery.
The 49ers exploded with excitement about the turnover. Backup linebacker Jaden Dugger pointed to San Francisco's end zone as Neal put his arms out and flaunted the ball to the home crowd. Fred Warner jumped up and down in jubilation. The 49ers finally had some juice in what had been a sluggish defensive battle.
"Humongous," Warner said of the play, "especially given how tight the game was at that point."
"It was a huge play by Neal," head coach Kyle Shanahan said, adding that he challenged the special teams unit to force a turnover in the team's Saturday night meeting. "The momentum changed after that."
Why was Williams so impressed?
"The returner gets the ball with seven or eight yards of separation. For him to be able to track him down, not only make the tackle in the open field, but (to) force the fumble and recover it."
Running back Christian McCaffrey noted, "To make that open-field tackle one-on-one with so much space, I don't think people understand how difficult that is."
There's some added context for why the forced fumble meant so much to Neal and his teammates. Neal felt he'd committed a grave error in the 49ers' 36-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals the previous week. San Francisco was leading 23-13 when Neal was struck by a Cardinals punt, a chance deflection that let Arizona take over in prime field position and then get within three points after a touchdown. A week later, Neal mentioned the play unprompted.
"I hate to bring it up," he said, "but when I touched the ball and they got the ball, it kind of swung the game.
"We were pretty much blowing them out until that play happened," Neal added, "and that play got them back into the game. So I just wanted to go back and take that back, you know what I'm saying? Make a play and still show the fans that they got a great special teams player and a great special teams signing."
Neal played for the Bills and Dolphins and is in his second season with San Francisco, and he plays a vital role on special teams. McCaffrey said Neal pops on tape every week when watching the unit. Opponents double-team him most of the time, McCaffrey said, "because he's that good."
Special teams are part of the game casual fans might tune out. Neal's name may go unnoticed. But among the players, special teams are seen as a tone-setter, a source of inspiration, an area where you can win on the margins. Asked if big special teams plays can hype up a team more than a touchdown or a pick-six, defensive end Romello Height was quick to respond: "Hell yeah!"
Height explained, "It creates that ‘want-to' attitude. You want to go do more. You want to go make a play like that."
Neal was philosophical about the impact and the importance of what he does on the field.
"We are the unsung heroes, and that's a hard pill to swallow for some guys that want the spotlight," Neal said. "But sometimes the spotlight can kill you, and that's one thing about special teams. You can play a long time in this league by just doing your job and making splash plays like that. And I just know that no matter what the fans say, or teams say, or whatever, special teams is always - to be honest - the most important phase."
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