To notch the first touchdown of the Super Bowl, Kyle Shanahan went into the San Francisco 49ers’ bag of tricks.
After catching a pass from Brock Purdy behind the line of scrimmage, Jauan Jennings wound up and fired a long pass back across the field to Christian McCaffrey. Once McCaffrey caught the football, he followed his blockers on the way to a 21-yard touchdown run.
Behind Jennings’ surprise touchdown toss to McCaffrey, the 49ers took a 10-0 lead over the Chiefs in the second quarter of the Super Bowl.
Following McCaffrey’s first-half touchdown, the NFL community on Twitter exploded with reactions. Here’s a look at what fans and analysts were saying on Sunday afternoon.
This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Jauan Jennings & Christian McCaffrey (21-yd TD) 📽️
McCaffrey had a 58.4% chance of scoring when he caught the ball according to the NGS expected YAC model, the 2nd-most probable TD reception caught behind the LOS outside the 25-yard line this season.
Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/Tu2uoZf2mY
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) February 12, 2024
Christian McCaffrey goes from 0-60 quicker than my Hyundai i10…
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@ojhodgkinson) February 12, 2024
Pass touchdowns in the 1st half:
1 — Jauan Jennings
0 — Brock Purdy
0 — Patrick MahomesJust as we all expected. pic.twitter.com/wxkFgMZYCw
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 12, 2024
STOP SAYING JAUAN JENNINGS IS A GAME-MANAGER
— Andy Behrens (@andybehrens) February 12, 2024
Jauan Jennings.
The guy wearing number 15 that we all expected to throw the first touchdown of Super Bowl LVIII.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 12, 2024
Maybe the 49ers should've tried Jauan Jennings at QB in last seasons' NFC title game at Philly
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) February 12, 2024
Jauan Jennings selling that play looking down the field before going back to McCaffrey was the reason that worked. A hell of a call but the execution from Jennings was flawless.
— KP (@KP_Show) February 12, 2024
This is your reminder that Jauan Jennings was a top-rated QB coming out of high school
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) February 12, 2024
Every time you think you *know* what an outcome is going to be in life, remind yourself that Jauan Jennings is the highest-rated high school QB prospect in this Super Bowl
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) February 12, 2024
Jauan Jennings: QB5 in the 2015 recruiting class pic.twitter.com/BdJqrGQzBa
— PFF (@PFF) February 12, 2024
So in a game featuring Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy, the only player in the Super Bowl with a touchdown pass at halftime is Jauan Jennings. Of course.
— Brian Witt (@Wittnessed) February 12, 2024
Jauan Jennings and whatever cornerback is opposite Jauan Jennings have fought after the play on every play this drive, lmfao
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) February 12, 2024
