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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mary Clarke

The 49ers copied a Lions trick play from the same day that also resulted in a touchdown

49ers Lions Kyle Shanahan Ben Johnson Brock Purdy NFL Christian McCaffrey Sam LaPorta

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it seems as if Kyle Shanahan liked what he saw from the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

During the highly-anticipated Sunday Night Football matchup between two NFC heavyweights in the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, NFL fans noticed a peculiar similarity on a touchdown from the home team. In the early minutes of the second quarter, the 49ers were looking to add to their 7-0 lead over the Cowboys. On first and 10, Shanahan and the 49ers pulled out some trickery, starting with a handoff from Brock Purdy to Christian McCaffrey, who tossed it to Deebo Samuel before the ball was pitched back to Purdy.

From there, Purdy threw a dime to George Kittle for a silky smooth 38-yard touchdown. Pretty neat stuff!

However, it took NFL fans no time at all to realize they had seen that play before earlier in the day when the Lions had Jared Goff and Sam LaPorta hook up from nearly the same spot against the Carolina Panthers.

Here’s a side-by-side video that shows just how similar the two plays are.

Shanahan will definitely be crediting Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson with the assist on that one in postgame press conferences. Even better? Both trick plays went for touchdowns after their respective quarterbacks got all of the ball and then some to their reliable tight ends.

Here’s how NFL fans reacted to the 49ers copycat version of the Lions’ trick play pulled off hours earlier.

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