Pierre Garçon told Marquise Goodwin in the huddle that he was going to air it out. The San Francisco 49ers had taken very few shots downfield during Weeks 1 and 2. A second-half deficit against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 made the 49ers force the issue.
So despite two defenders roaming the area, Hoyer gave Goodwin a chance to make a play down the middle of the field. Goodwin out-jumped both defensive backs and came down with the football.
"He told me he was gonna throw it," Goodwin said. "I knew what to expect. It was kind of similar to practice. He let that thing rip, and I went up and grabbed it.
"It was a great confidence builder to have a 50-yard catch and be able to help my team. I look to doing it more often."
Goodwin got off to a slow start this season and had two costly drops early on. In Week 1, Goodwin dropped a deep ball down the right sideline that would have given the 49ers a chance to take an early lead against the Carolina Panthers. In the following game, the receiver couldn't hang on to a pass that would have set up 1st-and-goal during a tie game with the Seattle Seahawks.
Those miscues weighed heavy on Goodwin's mind.
"Of course I get frustrated about the drops because I'm my biggest critic. I'm more critical of myself than the fans are," Goodwin said. "I'm more critical of myself than the coaches are. I'm more critical of myself than my teammates are. Nobody feels more hurt or disappointed than I am when I have a critical drop or when I don't make a play that I should have made."
Week 3 was a different story. Both of Goodwin's catches were worthy of Sportscenter's top 10. His tiptoe catch on the sideline went for 12 yards and set up a fourth-quarter touchdown. The referee initially called it incomplete, but Goodwin knew he got both feet in bounds.
"Sometimes you've just got to make plays like that," said Goodwin, who finished with 62 receiving yards against the Rams. "I knew I was in. No toe-taps. It's plant and drag. That's what happened on that play."
The extra rest ahead of Week 4 helped the 49ers get healthy, but the team's 0-3 record still lingered on everyone's mind during their days off. Robert Saleh said on Thursday that he "cannot wait for Sunday to see what we're made of". Goodwin's feelings are similar as San Francisco looks to get its first win of the season.
"It's always good to do your job. That's what it boils down to," Goodwin said. "I look forward to building off of what we had last week and keeping it going. We're ready."
