While San Francisco 49ers fans grew irritated with kicker Jake Moody after his third missed field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Niners wide receiver Deebo Samuel took out his frustrations on long snapper Taybor Pepper, who lunged at his teammate’s throat after he seemed to say something to Moody.

The confrontation took place with just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter after Moody missed wide right. After being pushed, Pepper followed Samuel down the sideline, barking at the wide receiver and having to be restrained by teammates.

After Moody’s missed field goal, the Bucs drove down the field to make their own field goal, tying the game at 20–20 with less than a minute to play. However, Moody redeemed himself from the earlier misses by hitting a 44-yarder as time expired to give San Francisco the win.

After the win, Pepper told reporters that Samuel Moody simply told him to “lock in.”

“He told him to lock in, and we know what our job is,” Pepper said. “We have us. It’s hard to be a specialist, sometimes it’s feast or famine. As a young development specialist like Jake, I don’t know how much better it gets than missing three straight games and having to step up and hit a game winner from almost 50 yards. I am very proud of Jake.”

Samuel reiterated that after the game, telling reporters that he went out of character in the heat of the moment and clarifying that he didn’t say anything to Pepper, but that the long snapper just wanted to come over and protect Moody like a “big brother” .

“I’ll talk to Moody and we’ll get over it.”

Deebo Samuel discusses his “frustrated” reaction to Jake Moody’s missed kick pic.twitter.com/ylZ9SNmN4E

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) November 10, 2024

“I’ll talk to Moody and we’ll figure it out,” Samuel said, later adding that Moody “had a little dog in him” to hit the game winner.

“I didn’t say anything crazy to him, I was a bit frustrated at the time, but he went out and won the game for us. It didn’t bother him, so we’re moving past it,” Samuel said.

Linebacker Fred Warner, a team captain, said the incident was indicative of “the fiery spirit of the team” and simply showed how much each player wants to win.

GO DEEPER

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Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he didn’t see the push but refused to look too far into it, simply saying, “The brothers are in a bit of a scuffle,” adding that if the issue hasn’t already been addressed , it will be solved. on the plane home.

After the match, Moody said Samuel doesn’t owe him an apology and that he quickly moved past the incident.

“It’s an emotional game and things like that happen all the time. You just move past it and we won, so that’s all that matters,” Moody said.

Moody added, “There doesn’t need to be an apology. Like I said, the heat of the moment. It happens. I have to make those stairs eventually, that’s all I’m focused on. I don’t worry about anything like that.”

Shanahan himself showed visible frustration on the sideline after an earlier miss by Moody, but said he didn’t say anything to the kicker before the final, game-winning drive. Regarding the altercation with Samuel, Shanahan said he did not think the push put additional pressure on Moody.

“I don’t think the pressure of people being pushed around with helmets on or anything like that is a lot,” Shanahan said. “You’re only as good as your last kick, you’re only as good as your last throw, you’re only as good as your last game. It was a great exercise for himself to put himself in a situation like that and get through it. I think this gives the boys more confidence, so they’ve been there before. But I’m proud of how he did it in the end.”

Moody finished the game with three goals on six attempts, while Samuel added 62 yards on five catches. Moody entered the game with 13 field goals on 14 attempts.

(Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)