A moment Kyle Juszczyk has been preparing for finally came in the 49ers' 30-13 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.
An injury to rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing put the 49ers fullback in line to return a punt in the third quarter -- and he took full advantage of his opportunity.
"Yeah, I think Kyle is one of the more poised, clutch, or 'the game's not too big for him' people I've ever been around," coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Wednesday. "I mean, ask anybody, I don't care how good your hands are, but just to get thrown in an NFL game and go catch a punt isn't very easy -- especially when we were telling him all he's got to do is fair catch it. ...
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"We just wanted to make it nice and easy and fair catch it, and he wanted to take advantage of his opportunity, try to get a house call and earn that job."
"He wanted to take advantage of his opportunity, try and get a house call."
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 2, 2024
Shanahan on Juice's punt return attempt 😂 pic.twitter.com/KoiOWSXLWr
Juszczyk didn't quite return the punt to the house, but he certainly didn't signal for a fair catch and instead picked up 8 yards on the play -- the first punt return of his 11-year NFL career. Before Sunday's game, Juszczyk had returned six kicks, including one with the 49ers in 2023 for 18 yards.
But that doesn't mean the eight-time Pro Bowl selection wasn't prepared for the moment. Juszczyk has been seen practicing punt returns on numerous occasions, bringing a whole new meaning to the term Swiss Army Knife.
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— Kyle Juszczyk (@JuiceCheck44) August 22, 2023
Cowing, who offers the 49ers an explosive return option despite a costly muffed punt in Week 2, didn't practice Wednesday due to his shoulder injury.
While there's still plenty of time before San Francisco faces the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in Week 5, perhaps the Patriots game wasn't the last we've seen of Juszczyk the punt returner.
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