Isaac Guerendo could have had an incredible first NFL career touchdown during the 49ers’ 36-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
But instead of a would-be 81-yard touchdown run, the rookie running back opted to slide at Seattle’s 5-yard line with 1:39 remaining in the game.
The move confused many, including Guerendo’s own teammate Deebo Samuel.
“We wanted to kill the clock, but he should’ve scored instead of letting [49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk] get the touchdown,” Samuel said postgame on “NFL on Prime Video.” “But we scored and put the game away.”
After leading the Seahawks by as many as 16 points in the first half, Seattle rallied back in front of its home crowd to make it a five-point game by the fourth quarter.
Looking to avoid another late-game collapse to an NFC West rival, Guerendo helped in those efforts — setting up Juszczyk for a 6-yard score to extend the lead and eventually secure San Francisco’s win.
After Samuel’s initial comments on the “Thursday Night Football” broadcast, Samuel playfully doubled down on his reaction to Guerendo surrendering his first touchdown.
“I don’t know why he didn’t score, I would’ve scored,” Samuel said, laughing. “He said he was looking at the sideline and people were telling him to go down. For what? I don’t know. Why he looking at the sideline [while] running anyway?
“But that’s just huge. It’s kind of like a next-man-up mentality.”
In the locker room after the game, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had fun with Guerendo, too.
“What about the rookies today?” Shanahan said as the team clapped and yelled with excitement. “Malik [Mustapha] got a pick. Renardo [Green] got a pick. What about Isaac giving up his first career touchdown? That was smart, man. Don’t let Juice be in your ear!”
While Guerendo unselfishly didn’t get the touchdown, he still reached an impressive accomplishment.
His 76-yard run marked San Francisco’s longest run of the season and the longest run by a 49ers player since former standout 49ers running back Raheem Mostert registered an 80-yard run against the New York Jets during the 2020 season. And funny enough, Mostert is the player Samuel said Guerendo reminds him of.
Guerendo likely won’t hear the end of it from his teammates, but after his standout performance under the prime time lights, there likely will be plenty of other opportunities for the rookie to snag his first career touchdown.
