The San Francisco 49ers had a heated moment on the sidelines in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel decided to confront Jake Moody after the kicker missed his third field goal attempt of the afternoon.
Fox broadcast cameras caught Samuel shoving long snapper Taybor Pepper near the neck area. Samuel's hand wound up hitting Moody's helmet (ostensibly, it was an accident).
Per Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle, Kyle Shanahan addressed the incident with reporters on Monday. He downplayed the moment.
"We squashed it and we’re good,” Shanahan said. “I think it was a little bit of an overreaction. You never want Deebo to throw a baby punch at anybody on our own team, but he also wasn’t saying anything bad to Jake. He was meeting him on the field telling him to lock in, the same thing I’ll tell an offensive player who just dropped some balls or made some penalties."
Shanahan said he liked Pepper's instincts to back Moody, but said the long snapper interpreted Samuel's message wrongly and "overreacted" to the star receiver.
"Deebo didn’t like that and got him out of his face, and that’s really about where it ended, Shanahan said.
Shanahan said the 49ers do not intend to give Samuel a fine for choosing to hit his teammate in frustration.
Moody would make his next field goal attempt with no time remaining in the fourth quarter to give the 49ers a 23-20 win at Raymond James Stadium.
Moody, a 2023 third-round pick by the 49ers, went 3-of-6 on field goal attempts against the Buccaneers and made all two of his extra-point chances.
Sunday was Moody's first game back since being sidelined by an ankle injury that caused him to miss three contests. The 24-year-old is 16-of-20 on field goal attempts in 2024.
Samuel recorded five receptions for 62 yards in Week 10.
The 49ers will host the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11.
