The most memorable hit Bobby Wagner delivered Monday night at Levi’s Stadium wasn’t on a 49ers running back or wide receiver. In fact, no one on San Francisco’s roster was the recipient.
Wagner put an end to the sprint across the field by an animal-rights activist who was protesting during the primetime matchup between the NFC West rivals. Stadium security was having a tough time trying to corral the fan, who was releasing pink smoke into the air as he ran, so the 6-foot, 242-pound linebacker stepped in and delivered a bruising shoulder-to-shoulder hit to stop the madness.
Twitter obviously had a field day with Wagner’s hit-stick, but the eight-time Pro Bowl selection himself wasn’t in much of a joking mood about the situation after the game.
“That’s not making a play,” Wagner told reporters, per ESPN. “That’s just keeping it safe. You don’t know what that fan got or what they’re doing. You see it all the time, and we don’t know what they’re carrying in their pockets. It’s whatever that little smoke stuff is, but that (expletive) could be dangerous.
“One of the guys on the other side, it looked like he got hurt, and security looked like he was struggling, so I was frustrated, so I took it out on him.”
Wagner’s stern tone might have been due in part to the 49ers flattening the Rams by two touchdowns. The reigning Super Bowl champions, who only have covered the point spread in one game thus far this season, now are 2-2 on the campaign with tilts against the Dallas Cowboys, 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the docket over the next four weeks.
