Deebo Samuel Sets an NFL Record With 80 Receiving Yards and Zero Catches
Samuel scored an 80-yard TD on a lateral without catching a single pass, breaking a 65-yard mark that had stood since 1961.
Big box score, but the gadget usage masks a cooling role.
- 80 rec yds, 1 TD, 0 catches — new NFL record
- Old mark: 65 yds by Timmy Brown in 1961
- Added 2 carries for 14 rush yds
- Recovered onside kick to clinch the win
- 188 PPR pts across 16 games in 2025
Deebo Samuel just did something no receiver in NFL history has done: he racked up 80 receiving yards and a touchdown without catching a single pass. On San Francisco's opening drive, Brock Purdy hit Mike Evans on a short throw, Evans flipped a lateral to Samuel at the 49ers' own 20, and Samuel took it up the left sideline for the score. The yards and the TD count as receiving — the catch does not.
That 80-yard line is now the record book entry. The previous mark for receiving yards without a reception was 65, set by Eagles back Timmy Brown against Pittsburgh way back in 1961. Samuel didn't stop there either: he ran twice for 14 yards and recovered the Cardinals' onside kick with 33 seconds left to seal the win. About the only thing he didn't do was actually catch a football.
It's a fun, quirky stat line — the kind that lights up a highlight reel and, depending on your scoring settings, quietly pads a fantasy manager's Sunday. But the way those points arrived matters when you're deciding what Samuel is going forward.
What It Means for His Fantasy Value
Here's the catch, so to speak: a lateral touchdown is not a repeatable target-share signal. Samuel posted 188 PPR points across 16 games in 2025, ranking as our WR24 (#72 overall), which is solid flex territory. But his last five games of that stretch ran 4.6 fantasy points below his season average — the trend was already pointing the wrong way before this gadget game inflated one line.
The Evans wrinkle is worth watching too. Mike Evans sits at just WR74 in our rankings (#224 overall) after 85 PPR points in eight games, so San Francisco leaning on trick plays to manufacture chunk yardage tells you the offense is getting creative — not necessarily that Samuel's conventional volume is climbing. Purdy, meanwhile, remains the engine as our QB23, and his last five games came in +3.7 fantasy points above his average.
Bottom line: don't overreact to a record you'll probably never see again. Samuel is still a startable flex with weekly upside, but treat this box score as noise, not a breakout. Hold him, keep him in your lineup against soft matchups, and monitor whether his real target share bounces back — that's the number that actually pays your bills, not a highlight lateral.
