The NFL wrapped up its preseason over the weekend with a full slate of games that everyone has already forgotten about in the looming shadow of Week 1. So you'd be forgiven if you missed one of the wilder plays you'll ever seen in an organized football game on one of the last weekend evenings of the summer.
The San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders were tied 24-24 with three seconds to go on Friday night when 49ers quarterback Tanner Mordecai, a rookie out of Wisconsin, tried to snatch victory form the jaws of a draw. Standing at his own 45 with three seconds remaining, Mordecai took a shotgun snap and rolled to his right. Seeing a number of teammates near the goal line, he heaved the ball about 55 yards downfield towards the end zone. While the Raiders were the first to get to the pass, the ball ended up in the hands of Trent Taylor.
From there it was all magic.
The final play of the preseason was a wild one 😅#SFvsLV pic.twitter.com/ooKkYdOgJn
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 24, 2024
Here's the official play-by-play of that that you can find on ESPN and NFL.com
"T.Mordecai pass deep right to T.Taylor to LV 7 for 48 yards. FUMBLES, touched at LV 10, recovered by SF-S.Gutierrez at LV 14. S.Gutierrez to LV 14 for no gain. FUMBLES, recovered by SF-R.Bell at LV 15. R.Bell to LV 22 for -7 yards. Lateral to C.Schrader to LV 23 for -1 yards. FUMBLES, recovered by SF-T.Mordecai at LV 24. T.Mordecai to LV 32 for -8 yards.
PENALTY on SF-T.Mordecai, Illegal Forward Pass, 0 yards, enforced at LV 32."
Apparently, whoever is in charge of summarizing the action just gave up after the illegal forward pass, which is a shame even if it is standard operating procedure. Cody Schrader picked up the ball and advanced down the sideline before he was met by a defender. Schrader then tossed the ball backwards to offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez.
You may remember Gutierrez from earlier in the play when he recovered a fumble and immediately lost it, allowing the play to continue. The fact that he was in position to catch a lateral, run about 17 yards with the ball and nearly score is kind of incredible considering he started the play on the other side of the field.
Based on this one play, he sure seems like he's got a motor. Gutierrez, 26, went undrafted out of Minot State in 2022 and has spent time with the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs and the Raiders twice. With this kind of effort, it's no wonder teams keep bringing him in.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 49ers Lineman Gives Unbelievable Effort on Final Play of the Preseason.
