Second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga and the San Francisco 49ers’ defense was having its way with the defending champion Los Angeles’ Rams offense on “Monday Night Football” from Northern California to wrap up Week 4 of the NFL slate.
With San Francisco up 17-9 in the fourth quarter, the former USC star put this one on ice with a pick-six of Matthew Stafford to give the 49ers at 24-9 lead with 6:27 remaining in the final stanza.
As you can see, Hufanga read what Stafford was doing on that play. He jumped Cooper Kupp’s route in a big way, picking the ball off and returning it 52 yards for the touchdown. Just a brilliant play from the former fifth-round pick.
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Talanoa Hufanga is a breakout star for the San Francisco 49ers
After playing limited action as a rookie last season, Hufanga entered his sophomore season as San Francisco’s starting safety following the departure of Jaquiski Tartt. Once Jimmie Ward was placed on injured reserve to open the season, Hufanga has been a centerpiece of the 49ers’ secondary. He has not disappointed.
- Talanoa Hufanga stats (Weeks 1-3): 21 tackles, 3 passes defended, 4 tackles for loss, 1 INT, 40% completion allowed, 48.7 QB rating allowed
It’s going to be key for Hufanga to continue playing at this level for a dominant-level 49ers defense. If what we’ve seen this season is any indication, he will be more than up to the task.