While the San Francisco 49ers have been inconsistent through the first four games of the season, the defense has been outstanding. The emergence of safety Talanoa Hufanga has been one of the big reasons why. And in Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, Hufanga came through with a play to put the game on ice.
Trailing by eight points, the Rams had gotten the ball across midfield. On first down, Matthew Stafford looked to find Cooper Kupp on a short route by the sidelines. But Hufanga read Stafford and got into the passing lane. After briefly juggling the ball, Hufanga came down with it and sprinted 50 yards to the end zone. It briefly appeared as though Stafford had a lane to tackle him, but Hufanga easily ran by the quarterback for the pick-six.
The second-year safety had earned the attention of the NFL world over the season’s first three games, consistently being near the ball and making big plays. He’s even earned lofty praise, being compared to fellow former USC safety and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Troy Polamalu.
That only grew with this play as the NFL world sent praises
This was his second interception and first pick-six of Hufanga’s young career.
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