All eyes were on Ambry Thomas once he back-peddled, flipped his hips and kept pace with Odell Beckham Jr. down the Rams’ sideline.
Thomas’ eyes were on the football.
“I just had to do my job: See the ball, go get the ball,” Thomas, a once-forgotten rookie, said after his interception clinched the 49ers’ 27-24 overtime playoff win over the host Los Angeles Rams Sunday.
As Thomas worked his coverage to perfection, he had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ attention as their eyes fixated on a locker room television. Once Thomas leaped for the 49ers’ biggest interception in years, Tom Brady put his hands on his head with incredulous joy (see: 2001 Super Bowl) and high-fived a Bucs teammate.
That secured the NFC’s No. 2 seed for the Bucs, the No. 4 seed for the Rams, and the 49ers’ wild-card berth, where, as the No. 6 seed, they’ll visit the No. 3 Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
“It was awesome how quickly Ambry read the ball in the air,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said on a Monday media call. “He was able to react on it much quicker than the receiver to get the pick and end the game.”
What made Thomas an unlikely hero – following a slew of offensive heroes, namely Jimmy Garoppolo, Deebo Samuel, and Jauan Jennings – was the humble, hidden beginning of his NFL career.
Thomas played only 20 snaps in wins over the Lions (Week 1) and Jaguars (Week 11) before being inserted into the starting lineup, where he made strides leading into Sunday’s fifth start – and first career interception.
“I think his greatest asset is poise at the moment of truth,” general manager John Lynch said after drafting Thomas in the third round April 30.
“When that ball’s in the air, he has an ability to locate it, which is not as easy to find as you might think for DBs,” added Lynch, a Pro Football Hall of Fame safety. “As they say, there’s a reason they’re playing defense. Ambry has a good skill for being very poised when the ball’s in the air.”
With 1:52 remaining in overtime, Thomas barely landed in bounds at the 20-yard line with Matthew Stafford’s final heave, which soared 49 yards in the air.
“Ambry was perfect,” Shanahan added. “He stayed on top the whole time. Stafford look liked he just threw it up to give Odell a chance.”
Inside the final minute of the third quarter, fellow starting cornerback Emmanuel Moseley also intercepted Stafford, also a 49-yard bomb. Shanahan didn’t understate things when he called both interceptions “huge,” and he commended Moseley’s ability to catch up to the ball and track it despite being out the previous month with a high-ankle sprain.
Such ball-hawking skills have been rare this season among the 49ers’ defensive backs, who drew 21 pass-interference and five holding penalties, with Thomas responsible for only one of the latter. The 49ers totaled nine interceptions in the regular season, including one apiece from Thomas, Moseley, K’Waun Williams and deposed starter Josh Norman.
“After the Green Bay (Week 3) game, we noticed a lot of teams would just throw the ball up and hope for PI or for the guy to come down with the ball,” Thomas said. “We always work in practice on going to get the ball.”
He can bet on the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott trying the same strategy while targeting CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson Jr.
Thomas’ mindset: have a short memory – good play, bad play, next play.
“Everybody wants to talk stuff about the corners, but when the ball is in the air, that’s the only guy you see, him on his man,” Thomas said. “It’s a challenge. My hat’s off to cornerbacks that really play at a high level.”
Former 49ers cornerback Eric Davis — a hero in the 1994 team’s NFC Championship win against Dallas — was pleased to hear Thomas so humble after Sunday’s game. Earlier this season, Davis encouraged Thomas to let him know he was on the right track.
“I reached out to him and told him the same thing Bubba Paris told me as a rookie: Don’t believe anything they write about you unless it’s great, and that what you’re doing, it’s hard,” Davis said in a phone interview Monday. “You can go from hero to goat, and you go from goat to hero, in one snap. That’s life of a cornerback.”
On draft day, Lynch credited the 49ers’ pursuit of Thomas to assistant general manager Adam Peters, who gave Thomas a bear hug upon greeting him with Lynch outside the locker room Sunday.
Thomas, the No. 102nd draft pick, was a COVID opt-out his fourth year at Michigan. He described it “challenging” to ride the bench most of his rookie year, but is “grateful” for making him practice harder. After one recent practice, he made interceptions on back-to-back periods, drawing the approval of an onlooking Lynch.
After Sunday’s game, Shanahan was blunt in saying he would not have believed Thomas was capable of such late-season heroics the way his rookie year started, adding: “That sounds harsh but it’s not. That’s a huge compliment.”
“I see him growing. He’s making mistakes but learning,” Davis added. “He’s doing things that are coachable. He’s not devoid of talent. And once you’re in position, it’s about making plays.
“The NFL is not going to be too big for him.”
HEALTH UPDATES
Shanahan is hopeful left tackle Trent Williams can return this week, because he “took it as far as he could” before getting scratched from Sunday’s lineup with an elbow injury.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (thumb) and running back Elijah Mitchell (knee) did not have any setbacks and will be limited like last week in practice. Nickel back K’Waun Williams is expected to practice Wednesday. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (calf) remain in the “maybe” stage.
No long-term injuries were sustained in the victory, although worth monitoring are safeties Jaquiski Tartt (groin) and Talanoa Hufanga (knee irritation), and punter Mitch Wishnowsky (concussion).
COACHING CAROUSEL
Shanahan is not aware of any teams yet requesting interviews for coach and general manager openings, though he did sing the praises of coordinators DeMeco Ryans and Mike McDaniel, plus personnel executives Adam Peters and Ran Carthon.
LATEST COVID CASES
Rookie Deommodore Lenoir was activated off the COVID reserve list after spending five days on it, per NFL protocol. Three practice-squad players were added to it: fullback Josh Hokit, quarterback Tyler Bray and cornerback Luq Barcoo. Bray served as the No. 3 quarterback in practice two weeks ago while Garoppolo rested his sprained thumb.
Source: www.mercurynews.com