Joe Staley is expected to retire after spending his entire 13-year career with the 49ers. Offensive linemen are often under-appreciated because their play in the trenches is typically not flashy. The grimy work offensive linemen do goes overlooked by most football fans while they watch where the ball is going instead.
For one play in the 2012 NFC Divisional Playoffs though, Staley changed that.
With the 49ers trailing the Saints 24-23 and facing a third-and-7 from the Saints’ 28-yard-line, quarterback Alex Smith caught the shotgun snap and sprinted toward the left sideline.
New Orleans was caught off guard, Smith got the first down with ease. A first down would’ve been all he got on the play had it not been for Staley flying up the field and throwing a devastating block that cleared out safety Roman Harper and allowed Smith to cruise into the end zone and give the 49ers a 29-24 lead.
Former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker called it the most athletic block he’d ever seen by an offensive lineman.
While the entire four minutes of that game will go down as some of the craziest in NFL playoff history thanks to a number of huge plays from both offenses, Staley’s block stands out among them.
Conversations about Smith’s eventual game-winning touchdown pass to Vernon Davis are always intertwined with a flashback to the Staley block on the previous drive.
Joe Staley will go down as a 49ers legend for a number of reasons – his block against the Saints in the 2012 playoffs is near the top of the list.
