Mustapha was a good sport about his end zone incident against Patrick Mahomes
During his rookie season, Malik Mustapha has developed a reputation as a heavy hitter. The talk of training camp was how physical Mustapha’s style of play, and anytime he’s been on the field, it’s shown up. Sunday, it showed up multiple times as Mustapha was a missile from safety. However, Patrick Mahomes took on the young safety heading into the end zone, and the result wasn’t pretty.
First, let’s show Mustapha’s big hits and impact.
Here is an example of Mustapha flying downhill to send the ball carrier back.
49ers rookie Malik Mustapha running the alley like a bat out of hell. Fourth-round pick out of Wake Forest has flashed as a rookie. pic.twitter.com/taLdSLj3dI
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) October 20, 2024
Fast-forward to the fourth quarter and fourth and goal, with the score 14-12 with 14:13 left in the quarter, and Mahomes laid the wood on Mustapha.
Patrick Mahomes laid the wood on Malik Mustapha pic.twitter.com/ieNcLe8EMf
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 20, 2024
Now, you can say how a player gets run over like that, but the fact remains that the pass rush integrity was lost immediately, and Mahomes was going to break the plane either way. The larger issue was the undisciplined 49ers pass rush that allowed a Red Sea-like lane to the end zone on fourth down.
One thing is for sure in the NFL. There will be plays where you get outworked or outplayed. Mustapha was very frank about the play and his overall play on Sunday, saying: “I feel like I got trucked, later too, so those hits really don’t mean nothing. They always remember that one play. Sometimes I got got. Got to look in the mirror and be better.”
Malik Mustapha asked about his hard hits:
“I feel like I got trucked, later too, so those hits really don’t mean nothing. They always remember that one play… Sometimes I got got. Got to look in the mirror and be better.” pic.twitter.com/4GwaItLwwq
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) October 21, 2024
These are wise words from the rookie and display Mustapha’s level of understanding and maturity. Regardless of the play’s outcome, Mustapha displayed his other superpower, his sense of humor.
— Malik Mustapha (@_malikmustapha) October 20, 2024
After a tough loss to the Chiefs, who the 49ers can’t seem to figure out and conquer, this response is clever and might display the team’s mindset and level of panic following their 3-4 start to the season. Mustapha will have plenty of opportunities to add to his career highlight reel. One play won’t define his progress or career.
Mustapha will have the opportunity to make people forget about this single play with a strong game against Dallas on Sunday night. The young man is confident, and it’s likely this play will be a footnote when discussing his overall impact and play.